The Viking site of Jelling in western Denmark may be well known for its royal burials and a large rune stone set up by King Harald Bluetooth to proclaim his unification of Denmark and the conversion of the Danes to Christianity, but the recent discovery of a remarkable hoard close by is bringing another, older dynastic centre into the spotlight and shaping up a broader picture of power in the area.
During the Christmas period of 2020, amateur archaeologist Ole Ginnerup Schytz went with his newly acquired detector for a walk on his old classmate Jørgen Antonsen’s field in Vindelev, a mere 8km from Jelling in south-eastern Jutland. A few hours later, world history was a unique gold find richer.
Including what is currently thought to be the world’s largest gold bracteate – a thin, decorated gold pendant – the hoard consists of 23 pieces making up 18 objects (some in fragments) with a total weight of 794g. It dates from what in Denmark is called the Germanic Iron Age (c.AD 400-750), a period that is seen by some researchers as a prelude to the actual Viking Age, as there are a number of events and structures in society pointing towards what will come next. Motifs and runes on the gold pieces are unique and reveal a variety of new, so far unseen elements of iconography and religion. All this means it ranks among the most precious finds in Danish and European archaeology.
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