The Provenance of Silver in the Viking‐Age Hoard From Bedale, North Yorkshire

ABSTRACT The acquisition of silver was a key motive propelling the Viking expansion out of Scandinavia; identifying the sources of Viking silver during the early part of the Viking Age can provide critical insights into the relative significance of western European and eastern, Islamic wealth in the Viking expansion. Here, we present new lead isotope and trace element analyses of silver ingots and rings contained in the late ninth‐ /early tenth‐century hoard from Bedale, North Yorkshire. Comparing the results of the cast silver artefacts against an extensive reference dataset comprising ninth‐century Anglo‐Saxon, Carolingian and Islamic silver sources, in addition to candidate lead sources, we identify several metallurgical groups with distinct silver origins. Silver subject to cupellation (refining) during recent recycling/casting processes can be distinguished from non‐refined silver, from both western European and eastern Islamic and indeed mixed, sources. The results indicate a dominant contribution of western European silver, pointing to the fate of loot seized by the Vikings during their raids on the Continent in the ninth century. Nonetheless, Islamic silver is also present in several large ingots: silver from the east—the product of long‐distance trade networks connecting Scandinavia with the Islamic Caliphate—permeated Viking wealth sources even in the western part of the Viking overseas settlement and should be seen as a significant driver of the Viking phenomenon.