A Viking-Era Vessel Found in Scotland a Decade Ago Turns Out to Be From Asia

New analysis reveals that a 1,100-year-old silver vessel, discovered in Scotland ten years ago, is actually from Asia. The ancient artifact is part of the Galloway Hoard, the most valuable collection of Viking-era treasures ever found in Britain or Ireland.

The hoard was uncovered by a metal detectorist near the Church of Scotland in Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire. According to National Museums Scotland, the collection includes over 11 pounds of silver, gold and other materials, with artifacts ranging from crystal jars and brooches to pectoral crosses.

“It's clear that these artifacts are of great value in themselves, but their greatest value will be in what they can contribute to our understanding of life in early medieval Scotland,” Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, told BBC News right after the discovery in 2014.

The lidded vessel has been a standout among the collection. It was found with ancient textiles wrapped around it, adding to its significance, as the survival of such materials is extremely rare. Since then, these textiles have remained mostly untouched for preservation reasons. In order to examine the surface of the artifact, researchers have relied on X-ray scans.

“It was immediately clear that the vessel was unlike any other silver contained in the hoard,” says Jane Kershaw, an expert on Viking age silver from the University of Oxford, in a statement from National Museums Scotland. “Instead, the results point to origins in the Sasanian Empire, what is today Iran.”

Specifically, the pot is linked to a famous central Iranian mine called Nakhlak. Kershaw adds, “It’s fantastic to have scientific confirmation for the distant origins of this remarkable object.”

According to National Museums Scotland, the hoard was buried around 900 C.E. Conservators used laser technology to clean the object, removing green corrosion and uncovering a range of designs and iconography, including crowns, fire altars, leopards and tigers. These symbols further connect the artifact to Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the Sasanian Empire, the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests.

“It traveled thousands of miles to reach south-west Scotland,” Martin Goldberg, curator of early medieval and Viking collections at National Museums Scotland, tells the Observer’s Dalya Alberge. “We know that people were certainly making pilgrimages to the Holy Land at this point. Once you’ve traveled that distance, you’re not actually that far away from the origins of where this vessel came from.”

The vessel will be on public display beginning September 26 at the British Museum for the new “Silk Roads” exhibition. In addition to the show, items from the Galloway Hoard are set to go on long-term display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Kirkcudbright Galleries.

“We’re delighted that visitors to 'Silk Roads' will be the first in the world to see this key object from the Galloway Hoard,” says Sue Brunning, curator of the European early medieval collections at the British Museum, in the statement. “For the first time it will be displayed alongside a similar vessel found in northern Britain and also used as a Viking-age treasure container, but the Galloway vessel is the only one confirmed as originating beyond Europe, in lands far to the east.”

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.