Seven gold amulets discovered, depicting gods, monsters, and mythical horses

About 1,500 years ago, someone in what is now Råde in southeastern Norway buried seven thin gold pendants on a rocky slope. Archaeologists think the hoard, decorated with Norse gods, mythical creatures, and horned horses, was a gift meant for the gods, not people.

These pendants belong to the Migration Period, a time of huge migrations and political upheaval in Europe. According to a recent report, only around 160 such pendants have ever been found in Norway, out of about 900 known worldwide.

Golden hoard in Råde

The work was led by Jessica Leigh McGraw, archaeologist at the University of Oslo. Her research focuses on gold bracteates, thin single sided gold pendants used as protective jewelry. 

In 2019, a metal detector enthusiast found four of the pendants in a plowed field near Råde, in Ostfold county. Archaeologists returned the next year, dug near a rocky outcrop at the field edge, and uncovered three more pieces from the same hoard.

Despite centuries in clay rich soil, the thin metal still shines because gold hardly reacts with air or water. The high purity makes the metal soft and easily bent, so each disc must be handled with care during cleaning and study.

The pendants are single sided, embossed from a wafer thin sheet, and edged with twisted bead wire that frames the pictures. They were worn as amulets, objects believed to offer protection from misfortune, and many still carry loops showing where cords or chains once passed.

Roman art and Norse magic

The designs on these pendants grew out of late Roman imperial portrait medallions, which northern goldsmiths adapted into their own religious art.

Gold pendants of this type turn up from Norway to Hungary, proving wide ranging contact networks among early medieval communities.

Scholars group the images into types labeled A, B, C, D, and F, based on whether they show faces, riders, or more abstract animals.

The Rade hoard holds four C type pieces with riders and three younger D type pieces with curled beasts, suggesting burial after AD 500.

On the C type pieces, a large human head rises above a horse like animal, surrounded by symbols, sun crosses, and sometimes a bird.

Many researchers see Odin or a messenger riding worlds, while the bird may stand for ravens Huginn and Muninn, symbols of thought and memory.

Type D pieces replace the rider with S shaped animals whose bodies twist into knots, perhaps showing a monster like the wolf Fenrir bound.

Volcanic ash and hunger

In the years AD 536 to 540, two volcanic eruptions sent ash into the stratosphere and dimmed sunlight across the Northern Hemisphere.

Tree ring data and glacial records show sharp cooling after these eruptions, along with reduced sunlight that lasted for multiple summers. 

Written sources from Ireland, the Mediterranean, and Asia describe a dim sun, strange colors in the sky, and repeated crop failures.

Later Norse tradition remembered a Fimbulwinter, a legendary three year winter of darkness and hunger that some historians link to this climate crisis.

Archaeologists have noticed that many Scandinavian gold hoards date from this troubled century and that several were buried soon after the cooling began.

One influential analysis  suggests that elites offered gold to regain sunlight and stability in a world they believed was sliding toward apocalypse.

The Rade hoard fits this pattern, since its C and D type mix places it in the sixth century, when other large offerings appear.

Climate modeling and archaeological evidence show settlements shrank or shifted at this time, adding weight to the idea of crisis rituals.

Gold, gods, and protection

Sacrificing valuable objects was common in northern Europe long before the Viking Age. People left gifts in bogs, on rocks, and near water, treating these places as points of contact with the divine.

Many hoards and graves show that such pendants were worn by high status women, which supports the idea that gold ornaments signaled rank and family alliances.

Shared stamp patterns across Norway and Denmark reveal how workshops and stories spread across long distances.

Giving up so much pure gold was a significant act, and researchers note that only the most privileged individuals could afford such offerings.

Lessons from Råde gold

The pendants are now being conserved and studied at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Researchers use a scanning electron microscope to examine tiny scratches, solder seams, and tool marks on the gold.

These details show that the pieces were worn before burial and reveal how goldsmiths shaped and assembled each pendant.

Comparisons with finds across Scandinavia help researchers trace shared workshops, stories, and ritual practices. The Rade hoard links a single field to wider networks and to people who turned to gold and gods during uncertain times.

Photo: Margrete F. Simonsen/Museum of Cultural History

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