AoA Circlet Research 3 - Twisted Arm Rings from the Isle of Orkney

From the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow --A Silver Hoard, The Skaill, Orkney

(most of the pieces on display are replicas of originals now in the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh)

In March 1858 a boy chasing a rabbit into a hole near Sandwick church close to Skara Brae found some fragments of silver kicked up by the rabbits. From the accompanying coins, and also from the style of ornament, the hoard has been dated to about AD 950. The characteristic patterns of interlaced S shaped animals are known as the Jellinge style, from a Danish royal site where similar patterns are found.

The silver ornaments at Skaill may well have been made in the Isle of Man. Such large silver brooches are common in the English Scandinavian areas but are otherwise unknown from Scotland.

Replica of one complete armlet formed of interlaced wires with a plain section having imitation terminals of a penannular ring, formed into open-jawed animals.

Replica of a larger, incomplete, twisted ring

Fragment of a one of the larger silver twisted rings from the hoard; with a plain flat terminal ending in a hook; it appears to have been split into wires for twisting


So, ah ha! I say... The theory has hope of being correct. It seems they did twist metal wires to get this effect!

AOA Circlet Research - Part 2

Here are two more images of circular jewerly from Gotland.

This one is from the same reproduction supplier as the first one posted

And this one is from an actual grave find... From the Polotsk National Historical Cultural Museum and Reserve (http://polotsk.museum.by/en/node/129)

Twisted ring from island of Gotland. 11th century. Gold 900*, filegreed. D-25,0.
Excavations by V. Bulkhin.
Upper Castle, Polotsk, 1978.

All of what I am finding looks like a large gauge metal wire with a smaller wire or multiple wires twisted with it. More specifically two small gauge wires twisted with one another, and then that new created twist then twisted with a larger gauge wire. The terminals all seem to either be animal head or tendril like scrolls… More research on actual grave finds is needed, but I think this has me going the right direction

AOA Circlet Research

As the people of 10th century Gotland did not wear circlets and weaving metal to look like tablet weaving is waaaayyyyy beyond my skill level (for the moment); I have decided to look at other ring shaped jewelry and then use it as a base for my design. Here is what I have found so far:

In the category of allegedly of period origin, but with no specific extant piece listed we have:

From: http://www.urweg.com/


Gotland Bracelet
Lye, Gotland, Sweden - Viking Era

More to come as I figure out how to better incorporate images into a post