The hidden gold of a Viking viceroy.

In 1842, a farm worker at the farm Rød found a gold spur on a piece of land that belonged to Værne monastery in Rygge, Norway. Later, several objects of the same design appeared nearby.

The gold objects are very beautiful and elaborate and can be dated to the last half of the 10th century. At the time, this area, Viken, had strong connections to Denmark. The Danish king controlled Viken and the areas around the Oslo fjord with the help of several viceroys.

The find consists of a spur, a belt runner and a gold belt tongue. Total weight is 340 g. The spike on the spur was made of iron and has rusted away. The spur is also worn and has been used on both the right and left foot. Spurs come in pairs, but the second spur has never been found.

The characteristic decor is done in the so-called “Hiddensee style”. This style is strongly linked to the most exclusive goldsmith’s art of this period and belongs in the circle around the Danish Jelling kings, Harald Blåtann and his son Svend Tveskæg. It is highly likely that these items were given as a gift from the Danish king to a viceroy in Viken. It’s quite rare that archeology comes this close to historical events and people.

The area in which the objects were found had recently been cleared of forest and replanted. There was no trace of any burial mound. The conclusion is that this is most likely a repository and not a grave.

In 1016, the Norwegian king Olav II Haraldsson, later St. Olav, confronted the nobles who had cooperated with the Danes in this area. There is a strong possibility that the gold was buried during these disturbances. Someone perhaps planned to dig up the gold later, when things had calmed down, but for reasons we do not know this was never done.