Runic inscriptions on an 1,100-year-old arm ring unearthed in Scotland suggest that the hoard of silver and gold it was buried with belonged to an entire Viking community.
The Galloway Hoard, discovered in 2014, has been the subject of mystery with theories suggesting it was likely buried by four prosperous owners based on arm rings inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes.
A new translation of the runes suggests that the hoard of silver and gold was “the community’s wealth” and not owned by any particular individual.
“This is another really interesting and significant development in our understanding of the Galloway Hoard,” Martin Goldberg of National Museums Scotland said.
The findings, however, raise questions like what community this was and what circumstances led to its wealth to be buried. “Some material within the hoard like the pectoral cross and the rock crystal jar made for a Bishop Hyguald would support this being a religious community,” Dr Goldberg said.
Researchers analysed runic words inscribed on the curved half of the arm ring. They found that one of the words could be a misspelt form of “this”, pronounced “dis” like how it would be in parts of modern Ireland. Another word was “higna”, an Old English word meaning community.
The full inscription could be translated as “this is the community’s property”, with “higna” used in Anglo-Saxon documents to indicate a religious community.
“There are a number of things which are technically ‘wrong’ when we compare it with what we know about ‘correct’ runic writing,” said runologist David Parsons from the University of Wales.
“However, if we think about both spoken and written English today, there are a huge range of regional and idiomatic variations and, if we allow for this, then it becomes possible to accept this as a plausible reading,” he said, calling the latest discovery “quite compelling”.
The Galloway Hoard still holds many secrets. Many of the objects have never been seen before in the British Isles, with some likely travelling thousands of miles to reach Scotland, according to researchers.
One of the arm rings has gone on display at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide as part of a new international touring exhibition from 8 February.
