First Viking saddle hat of its kind found in Netherlands

The pommel cap of a 10th-century Viking Mammon-style sword found in Frisia is the first such sword found in the Netherlands. It was discovered in May by metal detectorist Sander Visser, who found it less than eight inches under the soil on a farm near Witmarsum. He recognized it as a saddle hat and reported the incident to heritage authorities.

The Mammen style is characterized by double contour lines forming full-body animal silhouettes and leaf-like elements interlaced with asymmetrical S-shaped tendrils, and is named after the richly decorated, silver-inlaid iron axehead found in the Mammen Viking tomb in Denmark. Through dendrochronological analysis of the wood preserved in the tomb, we know that the Mamen Tomb dates back to the winter of 970-971 AD. It was the culmination of a short-lived decorative style that arose in the mid-10th century and later declined. It was used in the early 11th century.

The pommel cap is made of copper alloy and traces of gilding can still be seen on the intricately carved surface. The sides feature the silhouette of a boar’s head. The wild boar is a symbol of war and courage in Viking decorative art. The Norse goddess Freya had a wild boar named Hildesvini, which means “war pig,” and she rode it like a war horse into battle.

The discovery of this Viking artifact in Friesland highlights the region’s role as a link in the Viking network. Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm, Director of the Frisk Academy and expert on the Frisian and Viking worlds “This extraordinary find shows that there is still much to discover about the Viking Age in Frisia, an area that was much larger than Friesland today, and we have learned a lot about it through research in recent years. Because of this beautiful cape,” Dr. The saddle hat is the first such hat to be found in the Netherlands and it enriches our understanding of Frisia’s connections with the Viking world of Scandinavia and the British Isles and contributes to our historical knowledge Adds a new dimension.”

With support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Dr. Diana Spiekhout, Curator of Medieval and Mound Cultures at the Fries Museum, has long been studying early medieval Frisian swords that once Includes coastal areas of the Netherlands, the area around Utrecht and the East Friesian coast of Germany.

In early medieval and northwestern Europe, swords were more than just weapons. People give them human characteristics and they may have important symbolic value. “You could call these ‘epic’ swords,” says Diana Spiekhout. Prestigious swords were passed down from generation to generation within elite networks, with successive owners sometimes adding ornate decorations or replacing parts. Evidence of this way of handling swords is found in Frisia, but mainly until the eighth century. Any decorations added after this point are usually standardized.

The Frieske Academy and the Fries Museum are collaborating to study the saddle cap, comparing it with other Frisian archaeological finds from the era and with the trade and cultural exchange networks that brought the object to the Netherlands. In April 2025, the saddle hat will make its public debut at the National Antiquities Museum Leiden as part of its above-ground section. 2000-20 Archaeological Discoveries Exhibition. It will move permanently to the Fries Museum next fall.