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The vessel was… packed with precious objects and placed upside down.
What is it?
This lidded, silver-gilt vessel is c.150mm tall, and 92.4mm in diameter at the rim. It was discovered as part of the Viking Age Galloway Hoard, filled with a variety of objects including beads, pendants, and other treasures. Remnants of the cloth used to wrap the vessel are still attached to its exterior. The container is decorated with imagery associated with Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Sasanian Empire. The central motif is the fire altar, a popular element of Sasanian imperial iconography, which appears inside four roundels around the vessel, with triple-pointed crowns emerging from the flames and repeated at the base of each roundel. Also featured are leopards, tigers, and other motifs associated with western Asian art.
Where was it found, and when?
The vessel is a key part of the Galloway Hoard, a rich collection of rare and unique Viking Age objects that was buried around the end of the 9th century AD in Balmaghie, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The hoard was discovered in 2014 by metal-detectorists, and was then excavated by an archaeologist from Dumfries and Galloway Council. The silver-gilt vessel was found at the bottom of the deposit, where it had been placed upside down after being packed with precious objects and wrapped in two layers of textiles. For the last decade, it has been undergoing conservation and research work.
Why does it matter?
On initial discovery, this object was thought to be a Carolingian vessel, like the other two similar examples known from Viking Age hoards in the UK. However, 3D scans and laser cleaning revealed its surface decorations, pointing instead to an origin somewhere in central or western Asia. Now new scientific analysis has confirmed this. Researchers first analysed samples from both the body of the vessel and the niello (silver-sulphide inlay) using X-ray fluorescence. This showed that the vessel is made of an alloy of silver and relatively pure copper that is typical of Sasanian silver, but is not found in contemporary European silver. The team then analysed the lead isotopes in the metal and the niello, with the inlay providing the clearest isotopic signal that it used silver specifically from the famous Nakhlak mine in central Iran.
The discovery that this vessel travelled halfway around the globe to reach its final resting place adds yet another layer to the story of the Galloway Hoard, which is comprised of many different objects, all of which were clearly of great significance to the person or people who buried them. The latest research also highlights how much the Galloway Hoard – and this vessel in particular – can tell us about Viking Age Scotland and its connections with the wider medieval world.
FIND OUT MORE: The vessel is on public display for the first time in the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum in London until 23 February. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the Galloway Hoard is about to embark on an international tour, starting at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, where it will be on display from 8 February to 27 July.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Photo: ©National Museums Scotland
