Finger ring bezel, ingot and rod

Add to album

These three objects were found with over 360 Anglo-Saxon coins, buried at Iona Abbey on Iona between 986 and 990. They form an unusual and exotic group compared with other Viking Age hoards.

The silver and gold bezel from a finger ring is probably Anglo-Saxon in origin, and shows signs of wear. The silver ingot was of purely bullion value, as was the gold rod. However, gold is not common in Scottish Viking Age hoards or settlement finds.

The Iona Abbey hoard contained over 360 coins, probably the largest number in any Scottish Viking Age hoard, together with these three objects. It may well be a savings hoard, buried for safety during a Viking raid which is known to have occurred in 986.

Record details

To search on related items, click any underlined text below.

• Online ID: 000-100-043-901-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.IL 715
• Date: Deposited between 986 and 990
  
• Material: Silver; one end tapered like a bracelet; bent into a pointed oval
  Bar
  
• Dimensions: 5.25" L
  
• What: Bar
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Iona
  
• Event:
• Description: Bar of silver with one end tapered like a bracelet, bent into a pointed oval, found with a hoard of 10th century Anglo-Saxon coins at Iona Abbey
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James. The Viking-age gold and silver of Scotland (AD 850-1100). Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 1995, pp. 49-50, 147. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: