How Did This Arabic-Inscribed Ring End Up In A 9th-Century Viking Grave?

Ancient texts tell of face-off between Viking Age Scandavia and the Islamic Earth , but material grounds supporting the interaction of these two civilizations is rarified . This ring , recently reexamine more than 100 years after its discovery in a ninth 100 Viking grave , lends credenza to these history .

Researchers led by biophysicist Sebastian Wärmländer of Stockholm University present the findings from their review of the ringin a late issue of the diary Scanning , where they contemplate on the annulus ’s provenience and history of ownership :

The stone was previously thought to be an amethyst , but the current results show it to be dark-skinned glass . The pack has been purge in a high - grade silver alloy ( 94.5/5.5 Ag / Cu ) and retains the post - casting marks from the filing done to murder flash and mould lines . Thus , the ring has rarely been worn , and likely passed from the silversmith to the woman eat up at Birka with few owners in between . The ring may therefore nominate textile grounds for direct interaction between Viking Age Scandinavia and the Muslim world . Being the only ring with an Arabic dedication discover at a Scandinavian archaeological website , it is a unequaled physical object among Swedish Viking Age textile .

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