Found not far from the emporium of Ribe in southwestern Jutland, the hoard from Vester Vedsted contains an unusual mix of gold and silver items from varying parts of Europe, the Baltic and even coins from parts of Asia¹. The coins included in the find date between 913 and 942 AD, suggesting that the hoard was buried sometime after the latest coins were minted. Though the proximity to an emporium may help to explain the diverse origins of the hoard contents², there is very little information available about how the hoard was found or by whom.

Official catalogues of the contents list gold neck and arm rings, a brooch, pendants, gold and silver rods, silver beads, silver fragments, gold chain and silver dirhams³. The jewelry items were most likely made from melted down coins or other metal objects and worn by women as a display of status, while the gold and silver bars and silver fragments were most likely portable forms of wealth in a non-coin economy, particularly since the bars are weighted out in increments corresponding to units of ører. The neck and arm rings would have been made from melted dirhams, and worn by both men and women as a display of wealth and possibly as a form of portable wealth for the men (hacksilver)⁴. Without a monetary economy, the Muslim dirhams would have been meaningless, but they would have been accepted as compensation for mercenary services or trade in the Middle East then melted down for the silver⁵.

Virtually nothing is known about why the hoard was initially buried, but the number of hoards found throughout Scandinavia and other viking occupied territories suggests some role for them in religious or social practice beyond hidden capital that was unintentionally abandoned in the wake of some threat⁶. Perhaps it was an offering to the gods or a form of insurance for the afterlife. Or more practically, it may have just been the most secure storage for valuable items.

Though little is known about why this treasure was buried, the geographic variation in the origin of the items buried together at Vester Vedsted indicate that the vikings were very well aware of and involved in the trade networks that connected other parts of western Europe and the Baltic to the Middle East and central Asia. The Caspian Sea would have been readily accessible via river networks⁷, making the written accounts of viking merchants in the Muslim world⁸ entirely plausible and even some indication that they could have had contact with Silk Road traders. Contrary to the common perception that vikings were solely raiders, this find, and others like it suggest an established tradition of successful viking traders who came by their treasure honestly rather than stealing it.

Comment on this page