A 1,000-year-old Viking relic, discovered in a field in Norfolk, UK, by an amateur metal detectorist, is up for auction, where it could fetch over $30,000.
Jason Jones, who works in construction, set off with his wife to a field in the East Anglian countryside in January, armed with his trusty Minelab Vanquish 540. The same area had already produced two medieval silver coins and this visit did not disappoint either. .
“I returned to the area where the coins were found and received a strong signal, and at a depth of only two inches I found an unusual bronze object,” Jones said in a statement.
The couple were speechless at the discovery and unsure what it could be. They posted an image of the artifact on Facebook and learned that it dates back to the Viking Age.
The image of the Viking dice that Jason Jones shared online. Pictured: Jason Jones.
“My inbox went wild with compliments and people trying to help identify the find,” Jones said. The daily mail. “Right away people in Scandinavia suggested it was an Urnes-style Viking coin.”
Measuring approximately 5.5 inches in length, the object is a Pressblech matrix – an object used to make aluminum supports – which had been cast in bronze, with a high relief design on its face linking it to the 11th century and At later phase of Viking art. The ornamentation depicts what is probably Yggdrasil, a sacred tree from Norse mythology that connects nine worlds, entwined by a serpent known as Níðhöggr. A fleur-de-lis forms the tail of the mythical creature.
Side view of Norfolk Viking Urnes matrix high relief design. Photo courtesy of Noonans.
After informing the local archaeologist of his find and registering it with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Jones will now see the Viking die hit the block at Noonans on July 18 with an estimate of £16,000 to £24,000 ($20,280 to $30,420). He plans to share the proceeds with the landowner on whose land he found the object.
According to Noonan coin and artifact specialist Nigel Mills, the object is of particular significance for its function and the site where it was discovered.
“The die would have been used to make a stamped thin sheet of metal that would display the pressed image,” he explained in a statement. “Based on its find location, date and design, it is possible that the thimble was used on a Viking iron helmet to adorn the cheek guards.”
The Norfolk Viking Urns are dying. Photo courtesy of Noonans.
This militaristic objective is part of an era in England marked by the Norman invasions led by William the Conqueror. In 1066 King Harold II’s troops clashed with William’s army near Hastings in East Sussex, engaging in a nine-hour skirmish in which Harold was killed. The battle heralded the end of Anglo-Saxon rule and the start of the Norman conquest.
Mills further pointed out The daily mail that designs similar to the Viking Urns die can be found on the Sutton Hoo Helmetdating back to the 6th and 7th centuries.
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