Hoard

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This hoard of Viking Age hacksilver was wrapped in a linen cloth with fragments from two coins from Normandy and placed in a cattle horn. The hoard was buried at Lews Castle at Stornoway on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides sometime between 990 and 1040.

The hacksilver is almost entirely from bracelets of 'ring-money' type. The other hacksilver includes fragments of brooch pinheads and terminals, providing the latest such examples from Scottish hoards. The hacksilver was valued for its bullion weight.

In the Viking world, silver and, to a lesser extent, gold were used as a medium of exchange, weighed on balances. Any type of silver, complete objects, coins or hacksilver, was valid tender. Much of the silver was nicked and bent to test its purity.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-126-778-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.1991.5.12
• Date: Deposited between 990 and 1040
  
• Material: Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Silver
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring terminal / fragment
  Arm ring terminal / fragment
  
• Dimensions: 11 mm L
  11.50 mm L
  13 mm L
  15 mm L
  16 mm L
  21.50 mm L
  25 mm L
  25 mm L
  35 mm L
  43 mm L
  62 mm L
  73 mm L
  
• What: Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring / fragment
  Arm ring terminal / fragment
  Arm ring terminal / fragment
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  Scotland, Isle of Lewis, Stornoway (Lewis Castle)
  
• Event:
• Description: Silver penannular arm-ring terminal fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver penannular arm-ring terminal fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  Silver arm-ring fragment, part of a Viking hacksilver hoard from Lewis Castle, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James. The Viking-age gold and silver of Scotland (AD 850-1100). Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 1995, pp. 52, 147-52. 
• Translations:
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