Viking-era brooch is the only silver color in England –

A piece of folded silver found by metal detectors in Kelvedon in Essex was identified as a rare Viking-era brooch and declared as treasure. This is the first substantial archaeological evidence of the existence of Viking in the region and the only almost complete silver example of this type of brooch found in England.

The brooch is 25mm long (one inch), 20mm wide (.8 inch) and 10mm thick (.4 inch). It weighs 9.23 grams (about one third of an ounce). It is rectangular and folds into smaller rectangles. It is broken at one end, so it is not completely complete, and the silver is split at the folding point. The back is smooth and economical, but the outside is rich in decoration. The top and bottom of the long side borders the solid hemispherical boss. It also has panels of different widths, which are separated by wires with widths, containing three or two hemispherical bosses.

In England, there is no direct comparison of such silver brooch. The closest is the fragments of the Cuerdale ho hacksilver, a piece of more than 8,600 items, totaling nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of silver, which workers discovered in northwest England in 1840. The two hacksilver fragments of the hoop also have boss panels separated by wired wires and boss boundaries surrounded by single wires.

Silk wire decoration and boss pointing to Cuerdale fragments, while the Kelvedon brooch is a remains of equal brooch designed by Melovenians and Carolingians in the early 9th century. They are facing up at the center and slightly outward at the end. A pin is mounted on the back of the flat end. They are mainly in the Meuse/Lower Rhine area where they are produced. Several examples found outside the Northwest Cantonese territory were found in the context of Vikings, such as the Cuerdale ho. A clear example is found in Lerchenborg Hoard in Denmark and Lerchenborg Hoard in Domburg in Netherlands.

The discovery also illuminates the Viking movement in that part of Essex.

Miss Rogerson said: “Previously, we had only one possible hackgold that made some suggestions for the Viking activity, which was made from objects made of Anglo-Saxon runes, and some Danish coins found in the late 19th century.”

It is known that the Viking army would be close to the Anglo-Saxon settlements and would find the black water “easy to navigate”.

She added: “We know they sailed in the Blackwater River during the Battle of Malden in AD991, so the location of the discovery would be a strategic one.”

The brooch will now be checked by the Valuation Committee. It will be offered to local museums in exchange for payments that the amount they determine is fair market value. The fee will be distributed between the discoverer and the landowner. The Braintree Museum in Brentree, Essex hopes to get the piece.