From the exhibition
The Tjørnuvík sword pommel
A small object with a much larger story. A possible trace of the 11th or 12th century, connecting the Faroes with the British Isles.
Photo: Jan Hammer Egholm
Explore the object in 3D
A different view of the same object, hosted by Sketchfab.
Svørðknøttur úr Tjørnuvík
Turn the object. Look closer.
Preview photograph: Jan Hammer EgholmSketchfab receives your IP address and device details when you load the viewer. No Sketchfab connection is made before you choose to load it.
3D model by Faroe Islands National Museum
Open on SketchfabA discovery that raises questions
On 29 October 2022, Jan Hammer Egholm found this object while metal detecting in Tjørnuvík. Its surviving face has one large central lobe, two smaller lobes on either side and a broad curved lower band. The other broad face is open.
Shortly after the discovery, Tomáš Vlasatý saw Jan’s photographs on Facebook and offered a provisional assessment: a pommel variant outside Petersen’s typology, possibly made in the British Isles in the 11th or 12th century.
The missing side may be the key
The open face and the lower hole may help explain its construction and attachment. Photographs alone do not establish the alloy, complete original construction or an exact date.
Vlasatý’s assessment concerns photographs, not a physical examination. The proposed date remains provisional and spans the later Viking Age and medieval period.
From discovery to knowledge
According to the finder, the National Museum was informed around fifteen minutes after the discovery. The object was subsequently delivered to the museum for examination.
The complete illustrated article below includes detailed photographs, references and a careful discussion of what is known and what remains uncertain.
By Jan Hammer Egholm, written with assistance from AI. This is an abridged web edition of the original article.