Danish Bronze Age Vulstringe

I must confess that I’m not exactly sure what the Danish word Vulstringe translates to in English, so perhaps it is best I explain – Vulstringe are in fact large bronze rings from the Danish Bronze Age and it has been concluded that they were most probably used as ankle adornments.

- Lars Thygesen

Very few examples have ever been found, although a similar pair was unearthed many years ago as part of the contents of a high-status Bronze Age grave in Northern Germany. There have also been a few examples located here in Denmark, mainly in the last century during extensive bog-digging activities.

Strange and Mysterious

This is my story concerning the discovery of more examples of these strange and delightfully mysterious rings. In March 2017 I was out searching with my XP Deus on a very large field – I made my way over to a far corner where there was a little ridge. The photo above shows the field with the ridge prior to being ploughed. Although it was snowing gently and was bitterly cold, the ridge was a superb point from which to observe the magnificent surrounding scenery with a stunning view down to the local fjord.

As I approached the ridge I received a faint signal and this led to the discovery of a small, green patinated section of bronze sheeting (Fig.1). I re-checked the hole and there were still several other very clear signals. I was starting to get quite excited, as it was obvious that the bronze piece recovered was of some considerable age. I located two more pieces and then widened the hole. This done I swept the coil over it again and received a single much larger signal. As I still had no idea precisely what it was that I was dealing with, I proceeded very carefully.