– At first I thought it was rubbish, but I have learned that I must always examine lead carefully, says Tor Gunnar Heldal. During a metal search last week, he made an unusual discovery on a field in Lillesand in Agder. After brushing away the dirt and muck, he saw what it was. An amulet with runic writing from the Middle Ages, probably dated to sometime between the year 1000 and the year 1500. Tor Gunnar Heldal is above average interested in searching with a metal detector. There is a long time between each good find, so it requires a good dose of patience. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news This was of the type that was made from lead plates that were engraved with writing, and then folded into an amulet. These were supposed to protect against disease or other evil forces. Invocations, prayer formulas and holy names Professor of written culture at the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, Kristel Zilmer, knows about the find. She says they call these lead amulets, and that these can have runes or rune-like signs. Sometimes there are also letters, signs of the cross and other things. – On the outer layers, which are still visible, we can still see remains of inscriptions and other markings. Zilmer says that the inscription on the outer layers is often damaged, and that closer examinations with a stereo magnifier and microscope must be done before it can be determined what is written. – We often expect to find short Latin texts such as prayer formulas, invocations and holy names. Sometimes only certain characters are visible, but the rest of the text may be hidden inside the amulet. The lead amulet was found in a field in Lillesand. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news According to Zilmer, at the beginning of the 2000s, 26 such were found in Norway. – Metal prospector discoveries have resulted in a significant increase and I assume that so far around 100 have been found in Norway, says Zilmer. – Most of what I dig up is rubbish Medieval scholar Terje Ellefsen was about to dig into the ground when Heldal showed him the find. – That something like this should appear in Lillesand is absolutely fantastic. He says that the amulets were probably sewn into the clothes or worn around the neck. He assumes that a medieval farmer plowed the field and lost the amulet without noticing. Metal prospector Tor Gunnar Heldal thinks it was great to make such a discovery. – What I mostly dig up is rubbish such as iron, foil and aluminium, he says.
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Found lead amulet with runes from the Middle Ages – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
