A preliminary report on the study of materials and techniques applied within the Åker assemblage of the Merovingian period
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Published
Sep 25, 2025
Abstract
Between 1869 and 2017, the Åker assemblage was uncovered as a stray and excavated find on the Åker farm located in southeastern Norway. The finds are currently located in the University Museum of Cultural History in Oslo and include belt buckles, strap mounts and fragments of weaponry (including shield mounts and a pommel). The assemblage has been dated to the second half of the 6th century or ca 600 AD. Ingunn M. Røstad has published a comprehensive presentation comprising both recent and early research on the Åker assemblage, highlighting the full spectrum of items, their decorative elements, and intended use. The current article presents a technical analysis of a selection of fourteen objects, which includes weaponry, belt buckles, and strap mounts. The aim of this paper is to explore the distinctiveness of the assemblage through analyses of the materials and techniques employed.
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Keywords
buckles, strap mounts, weaponry, gilded and tinned bronzes, gilded and nielloed silver casting, silver plated carvings, garnet cloisonné, Tauschierung, Merovingian period, late 6th to early 7th century, X-ray, pXRF, SEM-EDS, CT scans
References
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Adams, N. (2010). Earlier or later? The rectangular cloisonné buckle from Sutton Hoo Mound 1 in context. In Harrington, S., Brookes, S. & Reynolds, A. (Eds.) Studies in early Anglo-Saxon art and archaeology. Papers in honour of Martin G. Welch (pp. 20–32). Oxford: BAR Publishing (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 527).
Adams, N. (2011). The garnet millennium: the role of seal stones in garnet studies. In Entwistle, C. & Adams, N. (Eds.) Gems of heaven. Recent research on engraved gemstones in Late Antiquity, AD 200–600 (pp. 10–24). London: British Museum (British Museum Research Publication 177).
Adams, N. (2016). Of men and mushrooms. In: Bollók, Á., Csiky, G. & Vida, T. (Eds.) Zwischen Byzanz und der Steppe. Archäologische und Historische Studien. Festschrift für Csanád Bálint zum 70. Geburstag (pp. 87–113). Budapest: Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Anheuser, K. (1997). The practice and characterization of historic fire gilding techniques, Archeotechnology 49, 58–62. doi: 10.1007/s11837-997-0015-6
Aufderhaar, I. (2009). From the goldsmith’s point of view. Gilding on metals during the first millennium AD: techniques and their development in the Germanic area, ArchaeoSciences 33, 243–253. doi: 10.4000/archeosciences.2269
Blakelock, E. & Fern, C. F. (2019). Workshop Practice. In Fern, C., Dickinson, T. & Webst, L. (Eds.) The Staffordshire Hoard: an Anglo-Saxon treasure (pp. 124–185). London: Society of Antiquaries of London.
Bruce-Mitford, R. L. S. (1978). The Sutton Hoo ship-burial. Volume 2: arms, armour and regalia. London: British Museum Press.
Calligaro, T. & Périn, P. (2019). Le commerce des grenats à l’époque mérovingienne. Archéopages 5, 109–120. doi: 10.4000/archeopages.9464
Cleve, N. (1942). Det stempelornerade garnityret i fyndet från Åker i Norge. Finskt museum 49, 13–23.
Coatsworth, E. & Pinder, M. (2002). The art of the Anglo-Saxon goldsmith. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer. doi: 10.1017/9781846150210
Delrue, P. (2008). Archaeometallurgical analyses of pre-islamic artefacts from Ed-dur (Emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain, U.A.E.) (PhD thesis, Ghent University).
Fern, C. (2019). Characterising the Objects. In Fern, C., Dickinson, T. & Webst, L. (Eds.) The Staffordshire Hoard: an Anglo-Saxon treasure (pp. 29–119). London: Society of Antiquaries of London. doi: 10.26530/20.500.12657/39941
Giumlia-Mair, A. (2005). Tin-rich layers on ancient copper-based objects. In Sudarshan, T. S., Jeandin, M. & Stiglich, J. J. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 18th international conference on surface modification technologies (SMT 18), arts and surfaces, Dijon 15th–17th November 2004 (pp. 359–367). London: CRC Press.
Gilg, H. A. & Hyršl, J. (2014). Garnet deposits in Europe. In Toussaint, J. (Ed.) Rouges et noirs. Rubies, grenat, onyx, obsidienne et autres minéraux rouges et noirs dans l’art et l’archéologie (pp. 144–173). Namur: Société Archéologique de Namur.
Grindkåsa, L. (2012). Boplasspor og grav fra romertid: merovingertid på Jarlsberg og Tem (lok. 8,9 og 10). In Mjaerum, A. & Gjerpe, L. E. (Eds.) E18-Prosjektet Gulli–Langåker. Bind 1. Dyrking, bosetninger og Graver i Stokke og Sandefjord (pp. 43–105). Oslo: Fagbokforlaget.
Hilgner, A. (2018). The “polychrome style” in Early Medieval gold ornaments. Garnet cloisonné of the fifth to seventh centuries in Europe. In Eilbracht, H., Heinrich-Tamáska, O., Niemeyer, B., Reiche, I. & Voß, H.-U. (Eds.) Über den Glanz des goldes und die polychromie. Technische Vielfalt und kulturelle Bedeutung vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Metallarbeiten. Akten des 2. und. 3. Workshops des Netzwerks Archäologisch-Historisches Metallhandwerk in Frankfurt am Main, 24.–27.10.2013, und in Berlin, 11.–12.05.2017 (pp. 299–313). Bonn: Habelt (Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 24).
Horváth, E. (2012). Cloisonné jewellery from the Langobardic Pannonia. Technological evidence of workshop practice. In Ivanisevic, V. & Kazanski, M. (Eds.) The Pontic-Danubian realm in the period of the Great Migration (pp. 207–243). Belgrade: Arheološki Institut Beograd (Posebna Izdanja Knjiga 51).
Hyršl, J. (2001). New gemmological study of large garnets of supposedly Czech origin. Gemmologie 50(1), 37–42.
La Niece, S. (1983). Niello and Historical and Technical Survey. The Antiquaries Journal 63(2), 279–297. doi: 10.1017/S000358150006652X
La Niece, S. (1990). Silver plating on copper, bronze and brass. The Antiquaries Journal 70(1), 102–114. doi: 10.1017/S0003581500070335
La Niece, S. (1993). Silvering. In La Niece, S. & Craddock, P. (Eds.) Metal plating and patination. Cultural, technical and historical developments (pp. 201–210). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
La Niece, S. (1998). Niello before the Romans. Jewellery Studies 8, 49–56. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-7506-1611-9.50022-4
Meeks, N. D. (1986). Tin-rich surfaces on bronze. Some experimental and archaeological considerations. Archaeometry 28(2), 133–162. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1986.tb00383.x
Meeks, N. D. & Holmes, R. (1985). The Sutton Hoo garnet jewellery. An examination of some gold backing foils and a study of their possible manufacturing techniques. Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 4, 143–157.
Menghin, W. (1983). Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter. Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag.
Mozgai, V., Boglárka, A. T., Weiszburg, T. G., Mráv, Z. & Bajnóczi, B. (2019). SEM-EDS and μ-XRD study of niello inlays of a unique late Roman silver auger staff (lituuls) from Brigetio, Pannonia (Hungary). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11, 1599–1610. doi: 10.1007/s12520-018-0750-3
Mozgai, V., Horváth, E., & Bajnóczi, B. (2021). Possibilities and limitations of non-invasive analytical methods in the examination of garnet- and niello-inlaid precious metal objects. Case study of three polychrome animal-style silver buckles from the 5th-century Carpathian Basin. Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Science in Archaeology 12(1), 45–67. doi: 10.24916/iansa.2021.1.4
Oddy, W. A. (1980). Gilding and tinning in Anglo-Saxon England. In Oddy, W. A. (Ed.) Aspects of Early Metallurgy (pp. 129–134). London: British Museum (British Museum Occasional Papers 17).
Oddy, W. A. & Bimson, M. (1985). Tinned bronze in Antiquity. In Miles, G. & Pollard, S. (Eds.) Lead and Tin Studies in Conservation and Technology (pp. 33–39). London: United Kingdom Institute for Conservation (Occasional Papers 3).
Ogden, J. M. (1982). Jewellery of the Ancient World. London: Trefoil Books.
Pion, C., Gratuze, B., Périn, P., & Calligaro, T. (2020). Bead and garnet trade between the Merovingian, Mediterranean, and Indian worlds. In Effros, B. & Moreira, I. (Eds.) The Hand Book of the Merovingian World (pp. 819–859). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190234188.013.51
Plahter, U., Astrup, E. & Straume, E. (1995). Norwegian rosette-brooches of the 3rd century AD. Their construction, material and technique. Historical Metallurgy 29(1), 12–24.
Plahter, U. & Simensen. C.J. (2002). Some characteristic features of gilded jewellery from the 3rd, 5th and 8th centuries found in Norway. Germania 80(2), 547–570.
Rundkvist, M. (2003). Snake brooches of south Scandinavia Ørsnes types L1, L2, J and H3. In Hårdh, B. (Ed.) Fler fynd I centrum. Materialstudier i °Ch kring Uppåkra. Uippåkrastudier (pp. 97–121). Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia. Series in 8° Volume 45).
Røstad, I. M. (2020). The Åker assemblage: fit for a king? A new account and discussion of a collection of treasure of the Norwegian Merovingian Period. Medieval Archaeology 64(1), 1–29. doi: 10.1080/00766097.2020.1754647
Røstad, I. M. (2024). The Åker assemblage. Provenance and local workshop-traditions in the North Sea region in the late 6th and early 7th centuries. Praehistorische Zeitschrift 100, 1–18. doi: 10.1515/pz-2024-2038
Slomann, W. & Christensen, A.E. (1984). The Åker find. Facts, theories and speculations. Universsitetets Skrifter 5, 173–190.
Skjølsvold, A. (1969). En fangstmanns grav i Trysil-fjellene. Viking 33, 139–158.
Stemann Petersen, K. (1998). Danish niello inlays from the Iron Age. A technological investigation. Journal of Danish Archaeology 12, 133–149. doi: 10.1080/0108464X.1995.10590090
Voß, H.-U., Hammer, P., & Lutz, J. (1998). Römische und germanische Bunt- und Edelmetallfunde im Vergleich. Archäometallurgische Untersuchungen ausgehend von elbgermanischen Körpergräbern. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission 79, 107–382.
Adams, N. (2010). Earlier or later? The rectangular cloisonné buckle from Sutton Hoo Mound 1 in context. In Harrington, S., Brookes, S. & Reynolds, A. (Eds.) Studies in early Anglo-Saxon art and archaeology. Papers in honour of Martin G. Welch (pp. 20–32). Oxford: BAR Publishing (British Archaeological Reports, British Series 527).
Adams, N. (2011). The garnet millennium: the role of seal stones in garnet studies. In Entwistle, C. & Adams, N. (Eds.) Gems of heaven. Recent research on engraved gemstones in Late Antiquity, AD 200–600 (pp. 10–24). London: British Museum (British Museum Research Publication 177).
Adams, N. (2016). Of men and mushrooms. In: Bollók, Á., Csiky, G. & Vida, T. (Eds.) Zwischen Byzanz und der Steppe. Archäologische und Historische Studien. Festschrift für Csanád Bálint zum 70. Geburstag (pp. 87–113). Budapest: Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Anheuser, K. (1997). The practice and characterization of historic fire gilding techniques, Archeotechnology 49, 58–62. doi: 10.1007/s11837-997-0015-6
Aufderhaar, I. (2009). From the goldsmith’s point of view. Gilding on metals during the first millennium AD: techniques and their development in the Germanic area, ArchaeoSciences 33, 243–253. doi: 10.4000/archeosciences.2269
Blakelock, E. & Fern, C. F. (2019). Workshop Practice. In Fern, C., Dickinson, T. & Webst, L. (Eds.) The Staffordshire Hoard: an Anglo-Saxon treasure (pp. 124–185). London: Society of Antiquaries of London.
Bruce-Mitford, R. L. S. (1978). The Sutton Hoo ship-burial. Volume 2: arms, armour and regalia. London: British Museum Press.
Calligaro, T. & Périn, P. (2019). Le commerce des grenats à l’époque mérovingienne. Archéopages 5, 109–120. doi: 10.4000/archeopages.9464
Cleve, N. (1942). Det stempelornerade garnityret i fyndet från Åker i Norge. Finskt museum 49, 13–23.
Coatsworth, E. & Pinder, M. (2002). The art of the Anglo-Saxon goldsmith. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer. doi: 10.1017/9781846150210
Delrue, P. (2008). Archaeometallurgical analyses of pre-islamic artefacts from Ed-dur (Emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain, U.A.E.) (PhD thesis, Ghent University).
Fern, C. (2019). Characterising the Objects. In Fern, C., Dickinson, T. & Webst, L. (Eds.) The Staffordshire Hoard: an Anglo-Saxon treasure (pp. 29–119). London: Society of Antiquaries of London. doi: 10.26530/20.500.12657/39941
Giumlia-Mair, A. (2005). Tin-rich layers on ancient copper-based objects. In Sudarshan, T. S., Jeandin, M. & Stiglich, J. J. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 18th international conference on surface modification technologies (SMT 18), arts and surfaces, Dijon 15th–17th November 2004 (pp. 359–367). London: CRC Press.
Gilg, H. A. & Hyršl, J. (2014). Garnet deposits in Europe. In Toussaint, J. (Ed.) Rouges et noirs. Rubies, grenat, onyx, obsidienne et autres minéraux rouges et noirs dans l’art et l’archéologie (pp. 144–173). Namur: Société Archéologique de Namur.
Grindkåsa, L. (2012). Boplasspor og grav fra romertid: merovingertid på Jarlsberg og Tem (lok. 8,9 og 10). In Mjaerum, A. & Gjerpe, L. E. (Eds.) E18-Prosjektet Gulli–Langåker. Bind 1. Dyrking, bosetninger og Graver i Stokke og Sandefjord (pp. 43–105). Oslo: Fagbokforlaget.
Hilgner, A. (2018). The “polychrome style” in Early Medieval gold ornaments. Garnet cloisonné of the fifth to seventh centuries in Europe. In Eilbracht, H., Heinrich-Tamáska, O., Niemeyer, B., Reiche, I. & Voß, H.-U. (Eds.) Über den Glanz des goldes und die polychromie. Technische Vielfalt und kulturelle Bedeutung vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Metallarbeiten. Akten des 2. und. 3. Workshops des Netzwerks Archäologisch-Historisches Metallhandwerk in Frankfurt am Main, 24.–27.10.2013, und in Berlin, 11.–12.05.2017 (pp. 299–313). Bonn: Habelt (Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 24).
Horváth, E. (2012). Cloisonné jewellery from the Langobardic Pannonia. Technological evidence of workshop practice. In Ivanisevic, V. & Kazanski, M. (Eds.) The Pontic-Danubian realm in the period of the Great Migration (pp. 207–243). Belgrade: Arheološki Institut Beograd (Posebna Izdanja Knjiga 51).
Hyršl, J. (2001). New gemmological study of large garnets of supposedly Czech origin. Gemmologie 50(1), 37–42.
La Niece, S. (1983). Niello and Historical and Technical Survey. The Antiquaries Journal 63(2), 279–297. doi: 10.1017/S000358150006652X
La Niece, S. (1990). Silver plating on copper, bronze and brass. The Antiquaries Journal 70(1), 102–114. doi: 10.1017/S0003581500070335
La Niece, S. (1993). Silvering. In La Niece, S. & Craddock, P. (Eds.) Metal plating and patination. Cultural, technical and historical developments (pp. 201–210). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
La Niece, S. (1998). Niello before the Romans. Jewellery Studies 8, 49–56. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-7506-1611-9.50022-4
Meeks, N. D. (1986). Tin-rich surfaces on bronze. Some experimental and archaeological considerations. Archaeometry 28(2), 133–162. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1986.tb00383.x
Meeks, N. D. & Holmes, R. (1985). The Sutton Hoo garnet jewellery. An examination of some gold backing foils and a study of their possible manufacturing techniques. Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 4, 143–157.
Menghin, W. (1983). Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter. Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag.
Mozgai, V., Boglárka, A. T., Weiszburg, T. G., Mráv, Z. & Bajnóczi, B. (2019). SEM-EDS and μ-XRD study of niello inlays of a unique late Roman silver auger staff (lituuls) from Brigetio, Pannonia (Hungary). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11, 1599–1610. doi: 10.1007/s12520-018-0750-3
Mozgai, V., Horváth, E., & Bajnóczi, B. (2021). Possibilities and limitations of non-invasive analytical methods in the examination of garnet- and niello-inlaid precious metal objects. Case study of three polychrome animal-style silver buckles from the 5th-century Carpathian Basin. Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Science in Archaeology 12(1), 45–67. doi: 10.24916/iansa.2021.1.4
Oddy, W. A. (1980). Gilding and tinning in Anglo-Saxon England. In Oddy, W. A. (Ed.) Aspects of Early Metallurgy (pp. 129–134). London: British Museum (British Museum Occasional Papers 17).
Oddy, W. A. & Bimson, M. (1985). Tinned bronze in Antiquity. In Miles, G. & Pollard, S. (Eds.) Lead and Tin Studies in Conservation and Technology (pp. 33–39). London: United Kingdom Institute for Conservation (Occasional Papers 3).
Ogden, J. M. (1982). Jewellery of the Ancient World. London: Trefoil Books.
Pion, C., Gratuze, B., Périn, P., & Calligaro, T. (2020). Bead and garnet trade between the Merovingian, Mediterranean, and Indian worlds. In Effros, B. & Moreira, I. (Eds.) The Hand Book of the Merovingian World (pp. 819–859). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190234188.013.51
Plahter, U., Astrup, E. & Straume, E. (1995). Norwegian rosette-brooches of the 3rd century AD. Their construction, material and technique. Historical Metallurgy 29(1), 12–24.
Plahter, U. & Simensen. C.J. (2002). Some characteristic features of gilded jewellery from the 3rd, 5th and 8th centuries found in Norway. Germania 80(2), 547–570.
Rundkvist, M. (2003). Snake brooches of south Scandinavia Ørsnes types L1, L2, J and H3. In Hårdh, B. (Ed.) Fler fynd I centrum. Materialstudier i °Ch kring Uppåkra. Uippåkrastudier (pp. 97–121). Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia. Series in 8° Volume 45).
Røstad, I. M. (2020). The Åker assemblage: fit for a king? A new account and discussion of a collection of treasure of the Norwegian Merovingian Period. Medieval Archaeology 64(1), 1–29. doi: 10.1080/00766097.2020.1754647
Røstad, I. M. (2024). The Åker assemblage. Provenance and local workshop-traditions in the North Sea region in the late 6th and early 7th centuries. Praehistorische Zeitschrift 100, 1–18. doi: 10.1515/pz-2024-2038
Slomann, W. & Christensen, A.E. (1984). The Åker find. Facts, theories and speculations. Universsitetets Skrifter 5, 173–190.
Skjølsvold, A. (1969). En fangstmanns grav i Trysil-fjellene. Viking 33, 139–158.
Stemann Petersen, K. (1998). Danish niello inlays from the Iron Age. A technological investigation. Journal of Danish Archaeology 12, 133–149. doi: 10.1080/0108464X.1995.10590090
Voß, H.-U., Hammer, P., & Lutz, J. (1998). Römische und germanische Bunt- und Edelmetallfunde im Vergleich. Archäometallurgische Untersuchungen ausgehend von elbgermanischen Körpergräbern. Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission 79, 107–382.
How to Cite
Plahter, U., & Storbekk, E. (2025). A preliminary report on the study of materials and techniques applied within the Åker assemblage of the Merovingian period. Historical Metallurgy, 55(3), 2-19. https://doi.org/10.54841/hm.684
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Articles
How to Cite
Plahter, U., & Storbekk, E. (2025). A preliminary report on the study of materials and techniques applied within the Åker assemblage of the Merovingian period. Historical Metallurgy, 55(3), 2-19. https://doi.org/10.54841/hm.684