Hoard from Morsum

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The hoard of Morsum is a Viking Age deposit that was discovered in 2017 near Morsum on Sylt . It comprises 180 pieces made of silver with a total weight of one kilogram .

description

The silver finds include arm and finger rings as well as a neck ring, coins , bars , remnants of enamel and wires. The most eye-catching piece is a finely crafted ring brooch , which is decorated with three buttons with animal-like creatures. The storage container of the after-school care center was not found. Since ceramic vessels were often used, the vessel could have been destroyed by the plow during cultivation. If it is deposited in a container made of organic material, such as a bag, this may have passed over time.

Discovery and recovery

In 2015, the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office came into possession of a silver ring brooch that an employee received from a family doctor on Sylt. He had received the ring brooch as a present from the family of a farmer who had found it in his field near Morsum in the early 1960s. Research by the State Office revealed that a bracelet found during this time and given to the State Office came from the same field on Sylt. After narrowing down the area of ​​discovery, the state office had the field searched by volunteer probes using metal detectors in the summer of 2017 . In the first of two inspections, 77 silver objects were found and documented. In addition, archaeologists carried out an excavation , as the found objects were disturbed in their location by the usual agricultural cultivation.

The hoard was presented to the public in September 2017 at the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office in Schleswig in the presence of the Minister for Education, Science and Culture Karin Prien . It is planned that the silver treasure will be presented in the permanent exhibition of the Archaeological State Museum at Gottorf Castle .

Dating and evaluation

The archaeologists date the hoard to the middle of the 10th century. Anglo-Saxon and Islamic coins helped determine the age . Two coins come from King Æthelstan (894–939). The 37 Islamic coins could date back to the 9th century. According to the head of the State Archaeological Office, Claus von Carnap-Bornheim , it is one of the largest silver treasures in Schleswig-Holstein . In the Viking Age, silver was used as a means of payment in the form of hacked silver ( see also: Viking silver hoards ). Presumably that was why some of the hoard's chains were broken.

The reason for the dumping of the silver treasure is not known. In earlier times, depots were often created to protect against unauthorized access. The archaeologists assign the owner to the former upper class on Sylt.

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