Item Name Late Viking Bird Brooch
Period 11 - 12th century
Culture Viking
Discovery Site Lund
Country Skåne, Sweden
Dating 1020-1050AD

Reference
L. Stenholm 'Dräkttillbehör och smycken', in: A.W. Martensson (Ed.) Uppgrävt förflutet för PKbanken i Lund. Kulturhistoriska Museet: Lund 1976.

Description
Bird-shaped pewter brooch. As well as being decorative it may have served to hang small utensils from a piercing between the claws. Original from Lund, which at the time was capital of the Danish empire of Knútr (Canute the Great), stretching across the North Sea to England. Though it was cast in humble lead alloy, zoomorphic (animal-shaped) brooches like this are unusual finds. Artistic parallels might be sought in Swedish runestone carvings, and possibly even in Byzantine metalwork. Discovered in an excavation near the Stortorget (Great Square), the medieval centre of Lund. The dig is still preserved for visitors' enjoyment, in the basement of a bank built on the site.

Dimensions
Length: 4.3cm
Weight: 9g

Material/s
Pewter (lead free)