It was found by a walker in a rock crevice.
What is it?
This spectacular sword scabbard fitting dates to the 6th century, during Norway’s Migration Period. The rectangular object measures 6cm wide by c.2cm high and is just a few millimetres thick; made of solid gold, it weighs 33g. The ends of the fitting are bent and compressed, and the surface is very worn, but it was once richly decorated with filigree ornamentation. Triple-beaded gold wires outlined a design comprising two figures with narrow, ribbon-shaped bodies, possibly representing hybrid human-animal creatures. The figures are shown in profile facing each other, one with its head along the upper edge of the fitting, the other along the lower edge.
Where was it found, and when?
The object was found by a walker in a rock crevice revealed by a tree blown over in a storm, at the top of Riaren hill in the Austrått area of Sandnes, Norway. This is the third spectacular votive find made around Riaren hill, after a silver neck-ring discovered in the 19th century and a large Roman bronze cauldron found in 1907. This area around Hove in Sandnes is known to have been a power centre in the Late Roman and Migration Period; archaeological and place-name research indicates that it was home to a group of elites, as well as, probably, a place of religious significance.
