A gold earring discovered in Denmark is believed to have been gifted by the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chief 1,000 years ago. The unique gold jewelry, dating from the 11th century, was found by a metal detectorist in a field near Bøvling in west Jutland, Denmark. The earring is thought to have been originally crafted in Byzantium or Egypt and is potential evidence of Viking connections all the way around the Mediterranean. So far, experts have been unable to find a similar earring in the area that may have formed a pair.

The earring consists of a crescent-shaped gold plate inserted in a frame made of gold threads adorned with small gold balls and gold ribbons. Its crescent-shaped plate is covered with an enamel that would have been created by a special technique involving breaking and powdering glass before melting it with metal so it becomes opaque. The motif of the enamel is two stylized birds around a tree or a plant, which symbolizes the tree of life. This type of jewelry is known especially from Muslim Egypt and Syria and from Byzantium and Russia.

In terms of style and craftsmanship, the earring is similar to the Dagmark cross – an 11th or 12th-century Byzantine relic. The earring and the Dagmark Cross are thought to both date from the Viking Age or the earliest Middle Ages and were likely not traded but donated by kings and emperors. That explains why the Dagmark cross was found in a queen’s grave, at St. Bendt’s Church in Ringsted, Denmark in 1683.

The earring find is now being exhibited in Denmark National Museum’s Viking exhibition ‘Togtet’, which translates as ‘The Cruise’ and is all about Viking travels to the Middle East. The discovery of the priceless find was made by 54-year-old Frants Fugl Vestergaard, who had searched the field many times before in the hunt for ‘danefae’ – gold and silver in the earth without an owner. As his detector gave a faint bleep, he picked up a clump of earth and crushed it in his hand to find the earring peeping out.

While there have been many finds in Denmark in the past, the discovery of the earring has been especially intriguing. Its origins from the Byzantine Empire have sparked interest in the possible Viking connections to the Mediterranean region. The find also represents a significant discovery as the unique and valuable piece of jewelry has never been seen before in the Nordic countries, and it could shed light on the relationship between the Vikings and the Byzantine Empire.