Golden Sword Scabbard Fitting from 500s Found in Norway

A hiker in southwestern Norway discovered a golden sword scabbard fitting from the sixth century C.E. while poking at debris after a storm. The artifact, roughly six centimeters wide and weighing over an ounce, features serpentine markings and beaded golden threads, indicating skilled goldsmith work. It is the first such find in Rogaland county and one of fewer than two dozen known in northern Europe. Archaeologist Håkon Reiersen of the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology noted the rarity of the find. The fitting is unusually worn, suggesting it belonged to a powerful chieftain who used it extensively. Its burial in a rock crevice implies it was a sacrificial offering to gods during a period of turmoil in sixth-century Norway, marked by volcanic eruptions, crop failure, famine, and plague. Other sacrifices found in the area include a 19th-century silver necklace and a 1907 Roman bronze cauldron. The artifact will be displayed at the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology.