The article presents the research results of a small fragment of a silver ornament from the hoard (tpq 1059), discovered in Linnakse village in northern Estonia in 2010. An archaeometric study method was applied to estimate the materials and techniques used for the production of this rare artefact and to establish the original shape, function and origin of the decoration. A scanning electron microscope supplied with an energy dispersive (EDS) X-ray micro analyzer was used for the analyses of materials. It turned out that the ornament was made from an alloy with a high content of silver at a maximum of 98.4%. The beaded wire soldered along the edge was made from a similar alloy as the ornament; the front side has traces of amalgamating gilt. The die impression decorating the ornament resembles the obverse of the coins minted during the reign of the Anglo-Saxon king Aethelred II and the imitations struck after them in Scandinavia. The only find that has several similarities with the Linnakse ornament originates from a silver hoard discovered in Kännungs (tpq 1025–1030) on Gotland in 1934 and was called by Mårten Stenberger (1947) a bracteate pendant. It is possible that the place where such types of silver ornaments were made was Gotland, which had reached an outstandingly high level in jewelry crafts.
Analysis report 2015 = Linnakse hõbeaardes sisalduva ehtefragmendi (AI 6962: 9) materjaliuuring ja analüüsiprotokoll. Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli Materjaliuuringute Teaduskeskus. Tallinn. Manuscript in the archive of Archaeological Research Collection of Tallinn University (AI 5-3-10).
Aspinall, A. 1986. Hard science: too hard for archaeology. – Archaeology at the Interface: Studies in Archaeology’s Relationships with History, Geography, Biology, and Physical Science. Eds J. L. Bintliff & C. F. Gaffney. (BAR International Series, 3.) Oxford, 130–132.
Brepohl, E. 1987. Theophilus Presbyter und die mittelalterliche Goldschmiedkunst. Leipzig.
Brepohl, E. 2001. The Theory and Practice of Goldsmithing. Brynmorgen Press, Portland, Maine.
Duczko, W. 1985. The Filigree and Granulation Work of the Viking Period. An Analysis of the Material from Björko. (Birka, V.) Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademie, Stockholm.
Edwards, H. G. M. & Vandenabeele, P. (eds). 2012. Analytical Archaeometry. Selected Topics. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge.
From Viking to Crusader = From Viking to Crusader. Scandinavia and Europe 800–1200. Catalogue of the 22nd Council of Europe Exhibition. Uddevalla, Sweden, 1992.
Hawthorne, J. G. & Smith, C. S. 1979. On Divers Arts. The Treatise of Theophilus. Dover, New York.
Ilkjær, J. 2000. Illerup Ådal. Archaeology as a Magic Mirror. Moesgård Museum.
Immonen, V. 2009. Artefacts of Precious Metals as Products of Luxury Consumption in Finland c. 1200–1600. I Text. (Archaeologia Medii Aevi Finlandiae, XVI.) Turku.
Killik, D. & Young, S. 1997. Archaeology and archaeometry: from casual dating to a meaningful relationship. – Antiquity, 71 (273), 518–524.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0008529X
Kiudsoo, M. & Russow, E. 2011. Hoards discovered in 2010. – AVE, 2010, 225–232.
Leimus, I. 2006. Viikingid – röövlid või kaupmehed? – Tuna, 1, 17–29.
Leimus, I., Kiudsoo, M. & Tamla, Ü. 2014. The Viking-Age hoard of Linnakse: some observations. – Early Medieval Monetary History. Studies in Memory of Mark Blackburn. Eds R. Naismith, M. Allen & E. Screen. Ashgate, Bulington, 571–621.
Murray, T. (ed.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries, 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.
Oldeberg, A. 1966. Metallteknik under vikingatid och medeltid. Victor Pettersons Bokindustri AB, Stockholm.
Olin, J. (ed.). 1982. Future Directions in Archaeometry: a Rondtable. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.
Pirie, E. J. E. 1986. Post Roman Coins from York Excavations 1971–81. (The Archaeology of York, 18: 1.) York.
Raukas, A. 2000. Kuld ja kalliskivid. Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn.
Scott, D. A. 1991. Technological, analytical, and microstructural studies of a Renaissance silver basin. – Archaeomaterials, 5: 1, 21–45.
Stenberger, M. 1947. Die Schatzfunde Gotlands. Der Wikingerzeit, II. Fundbeschriebung und Tafeln. (Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien.) Stockholm, Lund.
Tamla, Ü. & Varkki, H. 2009. Learning the technologies of making beaded wire. – EJA, 13: 1, 36–52.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/arch.2009.1.03
Tamla, Ü., Kallavus, U. & Säre, M. 2004. Eksperimentaalarheoloogia: hõbedast muinasehte koopia valmistamine. – Linnusest ja linnast. Uurimusi Vilma Trummali auks. Eds A. Haak, E. Russow & A. Tvauri. (MT, 14.) Tartu, 347–376.
Tamla, Ü., Karro, K., Kiudsoo, M. & Ots, M. 2011. Archaeological investigation at Linnakse stone-graves and a Late Viking Age silver hoard. – AVE, 2010, 73–88.
Tvauri, A. 2012. The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia. (Estonian Archaeology, 4.) Tartu University Press.
Wisseman, S. U. & Williams, W. S. 1993. Why study artifacts? An interdisciplinary approach. – Technologies and Archaeological Materials. Gordon and Breach, Langhorne, PA, 3–16.
Wolters, J. 1975. Zur Geschichte der Löttechnik. Degussa, Frankfurt.
Wolters, J. 1983. Die Granulation. Geschichte und Technik einer alten Goldschmiedekunst. Callwey, München.
Yellen, J. 1982. Archaeometric-archaeological cooperation: some case studies. – Future Directions in Archaeometry: A Roundtable. Ed. J. Olin. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, 88–92.
Zoll-Adamikowa, H., Dekowna, M. & Nosek, E. M. 1999. The Early Mediaeval Hoard from Zawada Lanckoronska (Upper Vistula River). Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa.
