As well as hosting the travelling exhibition ‘Viking: Rediscover the legend’ (details below), Nottingham University is also hosting a complimentary exhibition. ‘Danelaw Saga: Bringing Vikings back to the East Midlands’ highlights the Scandinavian presence in the East Midlands. The exhibition focuses on the evidence for this, which includes artefacts recorded by the PAS. Voluntarily recorded objects are extremely …more
Category: Early Medieval
Bringing Vikings back to the East Midlands-part 1.
As well as hosting the travelling exhibition ‘Viking: Rediscover the legend’ (details below), Nottingham University is also hosting a complimentary exhibition. ‘Danelaw Saga: Bringing Vikings back to the East Midlands’ highlights the Scandinavian presence in the East Midlands. The exhibition focuses on the evidence for this, which includes artefacts recorded by the PAS. Voluntarily recorded objects are extremely …more
Treasure 20 Charnwood – Thor’s Hammer
Thor’s Hammer Pendant LEIC-185125 This silver amulet dates to the period 850-1100AD. It would have been worn by a devotee of Thor, one of the main Norse gods alongside Odin and Frey. This was found in Thurcaston parish in 1993 by the same person who found our only Viking coin hoard (see blog …more
Treasure 20 Melton Museum – Burton Lazars Mount
The Burton Lazars mount LEIC-62EC04 This mercury-gilded silver mount from Burton Lazars, Melton, is a bit of a mystery. It has four openwork ‘knot- like’ interlace panels formed of snake like animals which have heads with beady eyes, which can be seen when viewed from above. It has no obvious parallels but similar beasts are seen …more
Treasure 20 Charnwood Museum- Gold Sword Pommel
The Earl Shilton Gold sword pommel LEIC-62B043 This stunning object from Earl Shilton dates to the seventh century and was the first Anglo-Saxon sword pommel to be found with this ‘filigree’ interlace decoration. However, the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard in 2009 changed all that and now it is one of a small group of …more
A pair of stirrup strap mounts!
These objects are amongst my favourite things to record and are very interesting for several reasons. Firstly, a pair of stirrup mounts such as these, LEIC-8C54F0 and LEIC-8D1AC0, are extremely rare finds. We only know of one other probable pair, BERK-2339E4 and BERK-230A90. It’s very difficult to accidently lose a pair of these mounts in …more
Rare Carolingian trefoil mount from Leicestershire – updated
When I was first shown this object, LEIC-C5F14A, the shape suggested the Viking age, but the decoration didn’t seem to fit. Enamelling and flowers are not what springs to mind on these trefoil mounts, which are usually gilded or plain bronze. Having now managed to loan the object from the finder, I can now confirm …more
Names from the Past
A recent Treasure acquisition for Leicestershire Museums is a very rare ‘Nummular’ brooch WMID-B1C4E3 found in the Hinckley area. These date to the late early medieval period and the brooch design is based on an 11th century coin. This brooch has been linked to coins issued by Aethelraed (ruled AD 978-1016), Cnut (ruled AD 1016 …more
Is This Klapperschmuck, Or Something Even More Obscure?
An enigmatic object has been found and recorded in Leicestershire by Phil Harding*. The record can be found here: LEIC-D62660. At first sight it looks like a fragment – part of the foot – of a narrow cruciform brooch, a bit like NMS-512284 (see picture). Narrow cruciform brooches are one of the earliest kinds of …more
A Second ‘Unique’ Bracteate Find from Melton
A few years ago a new type of early-medieval ‘A’ type bracteate (LEIC-EDD980) was found in Scalford, Melton. This example was unique in bracteate imagery because it portrays a figure drinking from a glass cup or drinking horn. Late in 2014, a second, incomplete example of this new type of bracteate (LEIC-1E63A8) was found in Hoby with Rotherby, Melton. The finder …more
