Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in Sweden. “One of a kind.”
Thor’s power has drawn the world’s eyes not to movie screens, for a change, but to a southwestern province in Sweden. There, archaeologists have discovered a Thor’s Hammer amulet, a unique artifact from the Viking Age, This is reported by Arkeonews. Construction crews discovered the ornament, which is modeled after Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, while excavating for a future housing development in Halland.
Previous excavations in the area had revealed Neolithic and Iron Age artefacts, but this is the first Viking Age artefact to be discovered there. It is also the first Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in the area. Read on to find out what the researchers found, the content of other discoveries in the area, and why this particular find is so unique.
Experts believe that the charm dates back to the end of the 9th century. It was made of lead and may have been coated with gold or silver, experts say. it contains a hole in the shaft, which allows it to be strung and worn as a pendant. Archaeologists believe the hammer was worn around the neck as a protective amulet.
Photos of the amulet showed it to be slightly more than 1 inch long and 1 inch high and could fit in the palm of your hand. “The find is unique in Halland, as a cod hammer of this type has never before been found in the landscape,” said experts from Swedish Museum Cultural environment Halland on his blog.
During the Viking Age, Mjölnir was associated with protective powers and amulets of this nature were popular, worn to ward off evil. During this time, Scandinavia began to swing from the ancient Nordic religion to Christianity. Wearing a pendant like this would show loyalty to the traditional Nordic gods, say experts.
Experts have started restoration work on the artefact, says Per Wranning from Kulturmiljö Halland. After the work is complete, researchers will be able to analyze the piece’s composition and determine whether it contained gold or silver.
In addition to the hammer amulet, the archaeologists found flint chips, pottery and a metal fitting that could be from the Viking Age or the early Middle Ages, they said. Hearths and other building elements such as pits and postholes were also discovered, and they suggest that the site dates from the Viking Age, which spanned from about 793 to 1066 AD.
Previous archaeological digs in the area have found settlements from the Stone, Iron and Viking Ages, experts said. In 2018, researchers uncovered a longhouse, or communal dwelling, that appears to date from the Iron Age, which spanned from about 1200 BC. to 600 BC
Ancient Origins notes that this Thor’s hammer is called a “one of a kind” because it is the first such amulet discovered in Halland. But it’s not the first notable archaeological find in the area: In 2014, researchers discovered a huge Viking hall that measured more than 164 feet by 46 feet.
That discovery was notable because it used ground-penetrating radar to assess the site instead of digging. “Our investigation shows that non-invasive geophysical measurements can be powerful tools for studying similar building foundations,” the researchers said.
Researchers at Denmark’s Museum Lolland-Falster didn’t have to do too much work to identify an ancient charm in 2014. Someone exploring a field with a metal detector discovered some small metal objects and handed them over to the museum. Among them: An amulet shaped like a hammer, which was engraved, “Hmar x is” — “This is a hammer.”