Where Worlds Collide: A typological and compositional analysis of the copper-alloy mounts from Viking Age Walcheren

This article presents a combined compositional and typological analysis for a group of ninety Viking-Age mounts found in Walcheren, the Netherlands. This new analysis is supported by data gathered using Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (HHpXRF). The new data sheds light not only on the character of the technology available at the time, but also allows us to formulate a new hypothesis of their purpose and cultural associations within a Viking-Age, North Sea world. Similar mounts have been found in other coastal areas of the southern North Sea, but not in great numbers, suggesting that production was more likely to have been local. Their compositional and typological characteristics matched those of certain forms of Viking-Age equestrian gear, but the relatively small size of these mounts allowed for the possibility that these items were more likely used on personal equipment. Although a question over the exact dating remains, the styles suggest that close ties existed between the Frisian, Viking, and Anglo-Scandinavian worlds between the ninth and eleventh centuries. This expression of identity should be considered in a context of continued intensive relations between Frisians, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons.