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First Viking pommel cap of its kind found in the Netherlands
A 10th century pommel cap from a Viking sword of the Mammen style discovered in Frisia is the first of its kind found in the Netherlands. It was discovered in May of this year by metal detectorist Sander Visser who found it less than eight inches under the soil of a farm near Witmarsum. He recognized it as a pommel cap and reported it to heritage authorities.
Characterized by double contour lines forming full-bodied animals in profile and foliate elements that interlace with asymmetrical s-shaped tendrils, the Mammen style is named after a highly decorated iron axe head with silver inlay found in a Viking grave in Mammen, Denmark. We know from dendrochronological analysis of the preserved wood in the burial chamber that the Mammen grave dates to the winter of 970-971 A.D. That was the peak of the short-lived decorative style, which arose in the middle of the 10th century and fell out of use in the early 11th century.
The pommel cap is made of copper alloy with traces of gilding still visible on the intricately carved surface. It is decorated with the profiles of wild boar heads on each side. Wild boars were symbols of war and courage in Viking decorative arts. The Norse goddess Freya had a boar named Hildesvini, meaning “Battle Swine,” which she rode like a charger into battle.
The discovery of this Viking artefact in Friesland underlines the role the area played as a link in the Viking networks. Dr Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm, director of the Fryske Akademy and an expert on Frisia and the Viking world, says: “This extraordinary find shows that there is still a lot to discover about the Viking Age in Frisia, an area larger than presentday Friesland, about which we have learned a lot through research in recent years. Because this beautiful pommel cap is the first of its kind to be found in the Netherlands, it enriches our understanding of the contacts between Frisia and the Viking world in Scandinavia and the British Isles, and adds a new dimension to our historical knowledge.”
With support from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Dr Diana Spiekhout, curator of Middle Ages and Mound Culture at the Fries Museum, has long been researching swords from early medieval Frisia that once included the Dutch coastal region, the area around Utrecht and the German East Frisian coast.
Swords were much more than just weapons during the early medieval period in northern and north-western Europe. People attributed human characteristics to them and they could have important symbolic value. “You could call these ‘epic’ swords,” says Diana Spiekhout. Swords with a formidable reputation were passed down for generations within elite networks, with successive owners sometimes adding ornate decorations or replacing parts. Evidence of this way of treating swords has been found in Frisia, but mainly up to the eighth century. Any decorations added later than this were usually standardised.
The Fryske Akademy and the Fries Museum are collaborating to study the pommel cap, examining it in relation to other Frisian archaeological finds from the era and the networks of trade and cultural exchange that brought the object to the Netherlands. In April of 2025, the pommel cap will make its public debut at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden as part of it Above ground level. Archaeological finds 2000-20 exhibition. It will move permanently to the Fries Museum next fall.
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