Galloway Treasure “Carolingian Vessels” are actually Persian

Among the Viking treasures found in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, is a special silver lidded vessel that was initially thought to be of Carolingian origin, but was later found to have been made during the Sassanian period (224-651 AD). Careful cleaning and metallurgical analysis revealed that the vessel had been transported thousands of miles before it was filled with Viking loot and buried in southern Scotland.

In September 2014, retired businessman and metal detector expert Derek McLennan discovered the Galloway Hoard, the largest Viking treasure found in Scotland since 1891. The hoard, which contains more than 100 individual items including rune-engraved silver ingots, silver armbands, brooches, sterling silver pectoral crosses with enamel decoration, and exquisite gold bird pins, was buried in two layers. The loose items were placed on the top, while covered containers below contained more treasure, each individually wrapped in luxurious silk brocade.

Its shape and style are comparable to covered vessels made in central and western Europe during the Carolingian Empire (800-887 AD). The hoard was buried in the 10th century, when Galloway was populated mainly by Viking settlers. By then, the covered pottery jar was already an antique. It is a very important artifact (the largest of its kind ever found) and its contents are so valuable that archaeologists think it may have been looted during Viking raids on monasteries or churches in Germany or France.

The decoration on the surface was difficult to see due to a thick layer of patina (a green powder coating produced by the corrosion of copper) and the remnants of the textile that wrapped it. After 3D scanning provided a roadmap of the surface, precise laser cleaning enabled conservators to remove the patina that obscured the surface without touching the precious surviving textile wrapping that was tightly attached to the vessel.

After the cleaning work, Zoroastrian iconography emerged, including leopards and tigers, and the centerpiece: a fire altar with a crown. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid Empire, and Sassanid kings were often depicted hunting exotic big cats. The crown on the fire altar was also associated with Persian emperors.

Dr Jane Kershaw, an expert on Viking Age silver at the University of Oxford, said:

“We took tiny samples from the vessel and the black silver (the black silver sulfide inlays on the decorations) to assess the origin of the silver. We immediately saw that this vessel was unlike any other silver in the hoard: instead, the analysis showed that it originated from the Sassanid Empire, in present-day Iran. Elemental analysis using portable X-ray fluorescence revealed that the vessel is an alloy of silver and relatively pure copper, which is typical of Sassanid silver, but not contemporary European silver. Furthermore, the lead isotopes in the silver metal and the black silver matched Iranian ores. We could even say that the black silver came from the famous Naklak mines in central Iran. It was fantastic to be able to scientifically confirm the distant origins of this extraordinary object.”

The ship will go on display at the British Museum for the first time Silk Road The exhibition runs from September 26 to February 23, 2025. Meanwhile, National Museums Scotland will host an online live event on September 11, where conservators, archaeologists and other experts who have studied the hoard will discuss what they have learned about the Galloway Hoard in the decade since its discovery, including the latest findings. Tickets are free (a donation is suggested, but it is optional) and you can register here.