A father and his two sons have found a 1,500-year-old golden amulet in a field at Magletving on Lolland.
“It is a really exciting and unique find for us,” Marie Brinch, the curator at Museum Lolland-Falster, told TV ØST about the find by Carsten, Lauritz and Lukas Heln.
The amulet (or bracteate) is a small, round, thin golden disc with a decorated front that is framed by a gold thread. It has an eyelet for a cord or chain, so it could be carried around the neck.
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Archaeologists have determined the image on the amulet most likely portrays Odin, the king of the gods who was also the deity for war and death, because there is a small runic inscription with the words ‘The Tall’, which was one of Odin’s nicknames.
“Only three [of these amulets] have been found on Lolland – the last one was back in 1906,” Brinch said.
“And we are aware of only around 1,000 such pieces from all over northern Europe.”
The amulet was discovered along with a gold pendant, three broken golden pieces (probably neck rings) and a golden ring – all dating back to 6th century.
According to Brinch, most of the uncovered golden artefacts from prehistoric Denmark come from this period, which may be linked to a major natural disaster that took place in 536.
It is believed an atmospheric dust veil from a large volcanic eruption or debris from space caused extreme weather changes in the northern hemisphere, which led to a prolonged winter and famines around the world.
