A rare artifact smaller than a pinky finger // Photo: nmf.nu .
Researchers have found more than 3.6 thousand such artifacts in the countries of Scandinavia, but the vast majority of them were found in Denmark. In Norway alone, where about 50 specimens were found, such a find is a great rarity.
A special artifact
On a plate made of the thinnest gold foil and having in length not more than 1 cm, engraved figures of a man and a woman. This artifact belongs to a special class of objects, in scientific circles has received the name as “gullgubbe” (“golden old man” in Norwegian). Researchers assume that these objects were used by Viking ancestors as sacrifices during important ceremonies.
According to scientists, the find dates back to about 550 AD, that is, long before the Viking Age, which began no earlier than 793. As indicated in the database of the Association of metal detectors of Norway, the weight of the plate is 0.23 g.
Find “in the backyard”
A man made the find when he surveyed a family farm in southwestern Norway with a metal detector. It is noteworthy that the artifact was found near the place Gauge, where at the end of the XIX century dug up 16 similar figures. The exact location of the find could not be documented because of agricultural work.
The artifact was handed over to the Archaeological Museum in Stavanger, which houses the finds made in the Norwegian province of Rugalann. The rich collection of artifacts covers a time span of more than 15,000 years.
