Arabic Coins as a Silver Source for Slavonic and Scandinavian Jewellers in the Tenth Century AD

Abstract

It has long been known that during the Viking Age huge quantities of Islamic silver coins were exported from the Islamic world and deposited throughout European Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic lands and Scandinavia. A remarkable concentration of silver hoards was discovered at the Gnezdovo settlement, situated in the western part of Russia, along the river Dnepr, near the city of Smolensk. Two coin hoards and nine hoards of coins combined with ornaments were found at this important centre for merchants travelling between the Baltic and the Black Seas.