BRACTEATE PENDANT FROM THE LINNAKSE HOARD: ARCHAEOMETRIC DISCUSSION OF THE SILVER ARTEFACT

Abstract

Introduction In the late summer of 2010, a history enthusiast Erkki Heinsalu discovered a Late Viking Age (tpq 1059) hoard from a field in the northern part of the Linnakse village in central Harjumaa. 1311 coins, two small silver bars, some silver beads and pieces of hack silver had been placed into a hand-made clay vessel with a narrow opening and lay as a rather compact assemblage amongst the vessel fragments at the depth of 25-30 cm in a soil without any traces of a cultural layer (Kiudsoo & Russow 2011, 225 f., fig. 3). Archaeological investigations of the find location revealed that a large burial ground had been on the same field with both cremation and un-cremated burials from the 3rd-4th century until the 12th-13th century. The silver hoard had been hidden in the vicinity of the earliest burial site the tarand grave (Tamla et al. 2011). This allows us to conclude that the Linnakse hoard is so far the only one from the Late Iron Age hoards in Estonia where the find context, proved by facts, refers clearly to connections with an old burial place (Leimus et al. 2014). The article concentrates on the study and research results of a piece of silver from the Linnakse hoard. It is important to note that the small item that was initially considered to be part of a widely used Late Viking Age silver coin proved, at closer inspection, to be a fragment of a rare decoration. Since such items had previously never been found in Estonia, I considered it necessary to publish an article about this item and so pass information about it on to scientific circles. An archaeometric study method was applied to reconstruct the whole item from its fragment and to establish the original shape, function and origin of the decoration. In the process I delved into the production technologies of analogous items. Archaeometry is the application of scientific methods and techniques to archaeological investigation and often looked upon as a link between the so-called traditional science of archaeology and other research areas (Murray 2001, 105). The objective of archaeometric studies is to use techniques from other scientific fields to obtain as much information as possible about the materials and techniques used for the production of archaeological items, about the craftsmen and their skills, tools, working environments, specialization, etc. and to learn about the production, trade and cultural environment of the time on a broader scale (Olin 1982; Yellen 1982; Aspinall 1986; Wisseman & Williams 1993; Killick & Young 1997; Edwards & Vandenabeele 2012). To establish the possible origin of the item I looked for parallels in archaeological collections in the neighbouring countries as well as more distant regions. The analysis of the material composition of the fragment was made at the Science Centre of Materials Research of the Tallinn University of Technology (Analysis report 2015). External observation of the item and conclusions about its production The 19 x 12 mm and 1 mm thick fragment of silver sheet with three straight and one curved side originates from a decoration, where a profiled wire with a 1.8 mm diameter has been soldered to the curved side (Fig. 1). It is most likely that the fragile item had been cut with a knife or shears for trading purposes. Unlike with chopping or tearing, the edge of a soft and thin silver sheet remains straight only if cut with a knife or shears. The barely perceptible yellowish sheen on the surface of the fragment could indicate worn gilt. If the item had been gilded, probably amalgamating was used--i.e. an ancient art of goldsmithing that became widely used in the first centuries of our era, when it replaced the method that used forging a thin sheet of gold to an item or applying glue like e.g. egg white for fastening sheet gold. The essence of amalgamating is fairly straightforward: gold is dissolved in mercury at 375 [degrees]C which produces the mass of amalgam that is then spread over the item to be gilded. …