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Bracelets and finger rings

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from Dibadale, Barvas, Lewis, Outer Hebrides

Bracelets and finger rings
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This hoard of three silver bracelets and two silver finger rings was found in the peat at Dibadale at Barvas on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The bracelets are examples of a distinctive Viking type. The hoard was buried in the 10th or 11th century.

The simple, plain bracelets are of a type known as 'ring-money', found in a number of Viking Age hoards from Scotland. The finger rings, one complete and one fragmentary, are made of plain bands of silver.

'Ring-money' highlights the overlap between ornament and bullion. They could be worn to display wealth, but when needed could be used as payment, cut up if necessary, and weighed on a balance. Some were manufactured to an approximate weight standard.

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