In south-western Norway a tourist accidentally picked up a gold mount from a sword scabbard of the first half of the sixth century

Not a treasure hunter, not an illicit digger, not an amateur archaeologist, but simply a walker found a badly worn little piece of gold lying on the surface of the ground.

It is reported that the method of manufacture is standard for an elite Scandinavian workshop of the Migration Period: thin gold wire twisted into a pattern that produces a shimmering effect. On either side are two animal profiles facing one another: one on the upper edge, the second inverted on the lower.

At the Museum of Archaeology of the University of Stavanger, the piece was assigned to the highest level of craftsmanship of the period and is thought to be part of the ceremonial scabbard of a local ruler. Gold mounts of such quality in burial assemblages of southern Norway are a traditional marker of status.

Why did the mount end up on the surface, and without any accompanying finds? Was it lost during a ceremony, was it a votive object in some sanctuary, or did it come to the top after the plundering of a grave?