Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Recent research on a fascinating Viking-Age silver hoard found in North Yorkshire has shed light on the extensive international reach of Viking wealth. The study reveals that much of the silver was acquired not through local raids but via long-distance trade networks extending into the Islamic world.
Hans Gude – Vikingskip i Sognefjorden – 1889. Credit: Public Domain
Led by Dr. Jane Kershaw, an Associate Professor of Viking Age Archaeology at the School of Archaeology, this research utilized geochemical analysis to trace the origins of silver ingots and jewelry from the Bedale hoard, discovered in 2012. Findings indicate that while most silver came from Western European sources—likely Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian coins obtained through raiding or ransom—a significant portion was derived from Islamic dirhams transported along Scandinavian trade routes.
Dating back to the late ninth or early tenth century, this hoard comprises 29 silver ingots and several intricate neck-rings. It exemplifies how different cultural and economic influences merged during Viking Age England. Importantly, this analysis confirms that Vikings accumulated wealth not only through looting but also by engaging in expansive commercial networks across Europe and reaching into the Middle East and Central Asia.
Dr. Jane Kershaw, Gad Rausing Associate Professor of Viking Age Archaeology at the School of Archaeology, said, “Most of us tend to think of the Vikings primarily as raiders, who looted monasteries and other wealthy places in search of wealth. What the analysis of the Bedale hoard shows is that that is only part of the picture.”
“The Vikings did loot and pillage—and some of that wealth is preserved in the rings and ingots in the hoard. But they also made great profits from long-distance trade routes connecting northern Europe to the Islamic Caliphate. We can now see that they brought large quantities of this Islamic silver with them when they established settlements in England.
“I love to think how Bedale—today a quintessentially English market town in north Yorkshire—was, in the Viking Age, at the heart of a much wider, Eurasian Viking economy. The Vikings weren’t only extracting wealth from the local population, they were also bringing wealth with them when they raided and settled.”
Through the use of lead isotope and trace element analyses, researchers, including those from the British Geological Survey, have identified three main sources of silver in a Viking hoard: western European coinage, Islamic dirhams, and mixed sources combining both. Notably, nearly a third of the hoard’s silver was traced back to regions within the Islamic Caliphate—modern-day Iran and Iraq—indicating that this silver traveled to Scandinavia via eastern trade routes known as Austrvegr before reaching England.
Credit: University of Oxford
The study also reveals that Viking metalworkers in Scandinavia and England refined some of this silver using local lead resources like those from the North Pennines. This suggests advanced metalworking skills and local production capabilities. Among the artifacts is a remarkable neck-ring made from twisted rods, likely cast with a mix of eastern and western silver in northern England.
These findings add to evidence showing that Viking wealth acquisition was complex and interconnected. While military campaigns and tribute extraction were significant, they were part of a broader economic strategy involving commercial exchange, melting imported coins, and recasting them into ingots or jewelry for use within their bullion economy.
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This research highlights how scientific methods such as geochemical analysis can shed light on the economic foundations behind Viking settlements and their integration into English society.
The study was published in the journal Archaeometry
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer