Two “Viking” bracelets from Nový Knín in Central Bohemia: Their origin, chemical composition and production technology
Ivana Kumpová
Published 03-01-2022
Keywords
- Early Middle Ages,
- Scandinavia,
- Modern period,
- Africa,
- bracelets
- analyses ...More
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2022 Rastislav Korený, Michal Vopálenský, Ivana Kumpová, Šárka Msallamová, Klára Drábková, Marek Fikrle, Petr Valenta, Jaroslav Frána
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The subject of the investigation is a pair of bracelets from Nový Knín in the Příbram district, the first of which appeared in 1965, the second in 2014. In the past, the first bracelet was characterised as silver, with analogies in Scandinavian ring ornaments of the 10th–11th century AD. But when this bracelet was subjected to an elemental analysis XRF in 2008, it was found to be composed of an alloy of brass with an admixture of silver. Following the surprising discovery of the second bracelet, a series of scientific and archaeological-culturally anthropological analyses were conducted, the results of which led to a chronological and material re-evaluation of previously published data, including their ‘find’ contexts. The analyses indicate that the two ornaments are virtually identical and also reveal that they cannot be regarded as early medieval artefacts but rather as Modern to recent products that were likely made outside of Europe (Africa?), probably of a tourist souvenir.