A EXTREMELY rare ancient Celtic ornament discovered in Norway is believed to have been stolen from Ireland by Vikings hundreds of years ago.
The discovery was made by Viking scholars in Trondheim earlier this week, after a group scoured the area, on a farmers land, with metal detectors searching for valuables.
The Celtic ornament was found amid dozens of other ancient items from across the world, in what scholars now believe is Viking loot gathered from raids centuries earlier.
According to The Irish Independent, the medieval Celtic ornament, depicting a face, is believed to have once belonged to Irish monks between the years 500AD and 700AD, and would have been clasped to a bucket; archaeological experts are currently examining the artefact at Trondheim Archaeological Museum.
Last week this fantastic object was found by metal detectorists was found in Norway - it’s probably an early medieval bucket fitting from Ireland. It likely came to Norway as Viking loot. These are very rare & it’s similar to... 1/3
📸Metalldetecktorbrødrene/Facebook pic.twitter.com/7IFygBAPdV— Dr Cat Jarman FSA💀 (@CatJarman) April 24, 2021
Also found in the same were ancient Islamic coins known as Dirham, indicating that the Vikings had travelled far and wide to raid communities and return with treasures.
Dr Cat Jarman, a leading Viking scholar and senior adviser to the New Museum of the Viking Age in Norway, who was involved in the rare find, told The Irish Independent she believes the Celtic artefact found is similar to those previously found in Norway, and expects two faces to be revealed on the clasp once it is cleaned up.
"They are beautiful, with religious significance," she told the outlet.
"It would have been very valuable back then," she said, adding that it was highly unlikely the artefact would have been brought back to Norway by Vikings "in a peaceful way".
The Vikings were renowned for attacking villages across the world in their search for valuables-- they first reached Irish shores in 795AD and continuously raided Ireland for up to two centuries.
It is believed the Viking invasions of Ireland only stopped when they were defeated by the Irish king Brian Ború.
