Archaeology Student Discovers Trove of Silver Viking Age Armbands in Denmark

Gustav Bruunsgaard, a 22-year-old archaeology student at Aarhus University, was walking in a field in Denmark this spring when his metal detector started beeping. Using a small shovel to dig up the dirt, Bruunsgaard uncovered a silver bangle. When he returned to the same spot a few days later, he unearthed six more.

Now, archaeologists have concluded that the seven silver armbands date to around 800 C.E., which was near the start of the Viking Age (roughly 790 to 1100 C.E.). Together, the bangles weigh more than a pound, according to the Moesgaard Museum, which announced the find this week. The armbands are now on display at the museum.

Bruunsgaard found the trove in Elsted, an area on Denmark’s east coast just north of the city of Aarhus. In the past, archaeologists have found evidence of Viking-era settlements in the same area.

Aarhus—called “Aros” during the Viking Age—is the second-largest city in Denmark. The city sprang up around the 10th century C.E. at the mouth of the Aarhus River.

The armbands are made of silver, which the Vikings used like money for transactions and payments, according to the museum. At the time, armbands were made to be consistent weights so their value could easily be ascertained. These particular specimens were likely made in southern Scandinavia.

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One of the rings is shaped into a tight coil. This design likely originated in Russia or Ukraine, and was later replicated in the Nordic region, per the museum.

Three of the bands are stamped with decorations that would later become common in Ireland. Another three of the bands are smooth, featuring no ornamentation, and have been found in Scandinavia and England.

The discovery connects Aarhus with far-flung destinations like Russia, Ukraine and the British Isles—suggesting that “Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world,” as Kasper H. Andersen, a historian at the museum, says in a statement, per a translation from the Associated Press.

The Moesgaard Museum, located roughly five miles south of Aarhus, is famous for housing an Iron Age “bog body.” The Grauballe Man, as the specimen is known, was discovered in 1952 by a peat cutter working in a bog in Denmark. The body is so well-preserved that the man’s toenails, fingernails, skin, hair and facial features are still intact. He even had a stubbly beard.

Archaeologists later determined that the Grauballe Man was killed violently at the age of 35, then dumped into the bog. He had a broken shin bone, and his throat appears to have been slashed. His clothes were removed before he was tossed into his final resting place.

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.