3 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal mansion in Oslo, according to a statement made by the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU).

NIKU archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug found the figure which she first thought was a big fishbone, but upon further inspection saw the face of a figure with a crown and a kestrel on its arm.

The figure is 7.5 cm long and is formed of organic material with a fairly flat oval cross shape. It is adorned on both sides. The attire and hairstyles indicate that it dates from the middle of the 13th century and was most likely created in an Oslo workshop.

Researchers with Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research say the artifact depicts the earliest Scandinavian representation of the aristocratic activity of falconry.

The Figure shows a figure with a crown on their head and a peregrine falcon perched on their arm
The Figure shows a figure with a crown on their head and a peregrine falcon perched on their arm

The smiling, curly-haired figure wears a crown and carries a falcon on a gloved arm, and may therefore depict a king or queen, explained NIKU art historian Kjartan Hauglid.

The falcon itself is not an indicator for gender. Women were also falconers in the medieval period.

“The design of clothing shows that it is from the middle of the 13th century. The hair or head linen also fits the data. Head linen was fashionable for married women at this time”, the researcher elaborates

The style of the clothing and the headpiece suggest that the figure dates to the early thirteenth century, making it one of the earliest-known depictions of falconry in northern Europe, he added.

The lower half of the figure is hollow and may have been placed on a shaft for use by a noble or king. Håkon Håkonsson, who was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263, is known to have practiced falconry and to have given precious falcons as gifts to other European royal houses in order to build alliances.

NIKU

Related Articles

Dozens of unique bronze ornaments discovered in a drained peat bog in Poland

28 January 2023

28 January 2023

Numerous bronze ornaments have been discovered in Poland’s Chełmno region (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship). Archaeologists report that dozens of bronze ornaments, including...

1900 years old funerary altar of a teenage girl discovered in Rome

9 May 2022

9 May 2022

A funerary altar indicating the location of the remains of Valeria, a 13-year-old girl who died in the 2nd century...

Persian-era plaster walls were discovered during excavations at Zeyve Höyük in central Turkey

2 August 2022

2 August 2022

This year’s excavations at Porsuk-Zeyve Höyük (Zeyve Mound) near the Porsuk village of the Ulukışla district of Niğde, located in...

Arkeologists decipher hieroglyphics of a vessel found in the archaeological rescue of the Mayan Train

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Based on the analysis of eleven glyphic cartouches inscribed into a ceramic pot, discovered in October 2021 during archaeological rescue...

In the city of Gods and Goddesses Magnesia, Zeus Temple’s entrance gate found

26 September 2021

26 September 2021

During an excavation in the ancient city of Magnesia, located in the Ortaklar district of Germencik in Turkey’s Aegean province...

Neolithic Age Adults and Children Buried Under Family Homes were not Relative

3 May 2021

3 May 2021

An international team of scientists found that Children and adults buried next to each other in one of the oldest...

Columns in Lagina Hecate Sanctuary Rise Again

19 February 2021

19 February 2021

Lagina Hecate Sanctuary is located in Yatağan district of Muğla. It is an important sacred area belonging to the Carians...

2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews

9 December 2022

9 December 2022

A 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the central Israeli city of Yavne,...

Medieval gold ‘lynx’ earrings from Ani Ruins

29 December 2022

29 December 2022

A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings have been unearthed near the ruins of Ani, the once great metropolis known as...

Archaeologists uncovered over 100,000 ancient coins, some more than 2,000 years old

4 November 2023

4 November 2023

In an excavation at the Sosha Village East 03 archaeological site in Maebashi City, Japan, archaeologists stumbled upon a remarkable...

21 Copperplate Inscriptions discovered at Ghanta Matham in India

14 June 2021

14 June 2021

During excavations at Ghanta Matham in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh,  important 21 copper plates for the Mallikarjuna Swami...

Researchers found similar descriptions in the Book of Revelation and ancient curse tablets

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

A research project headed by Dr. Michael Hölscher of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has uncovered that the book of...

A 1600-year-old writing set was unearthed in the city of Bathonea, which has the oldest ancient port in Istanbul

21 August 2022

21 August 2022

During the Istanbul Bathonea excavations, a 1600-year-old writing set containing a miniature vessel, a bone writing pen, and an inkwell,...

Medieval Hub of Arts & Crafts Center discovered in Nola: The discovery could rewrite the history of early medieval Nola

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

On the outskirts of Nola, a district from the early Middle Ages has been discovered. According to the Soprintendenza Archeologia,...

Archaeologists find Viking Age shipyard in Swedish island

15 June 2022

15 June 2022

Archaeologists from Stockholm University have discovered a Viking Age shipyard at Birka on the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren,...