The Curmsun Disc is a convex-concave gold disc that gained scholarly attention in 2014 after an 11-year-old Polish girl in Sweden showed it to her history teacher. Some scholars have tentatively dated the disc to the 10th to 12th century, although its authenticity is not universally accepted by historians or archaeologists. The disk weighs and has a diameter of . The Danish

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

king

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

is mentioned in the inscription of the disc. The disc's characteristics are influenced by Byzantine coins and seals.

Origin

The Curmsun disc was reportedly found as part of a Viking Age hoard discovered in 1841 in the cellar crypt of the ruined church in the village of Groß Weckow (now called Wiejkowo) in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

(now part of

Gmina Wolin __NOTOC__ Gmina Wolin is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamień County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Wolin, which lies approximately south-west of Kamień Pomorski and north of ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). This location is just east of the bank of the river Dziwna and near the place where the semi-legendary Viking stronghold of Jomsborg stood between the 950s and 1043. According to Swedish archaeologist Sven Rosborn, the entrance to the crypt was accidentally discovered by a 12-year-old Heinrich Boldt, who was playing with some younger children at a construction site near the ruined chapel. The find consists of five objects today: a silver coin from

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

's reign, a bracelet in bronze with a dash decoration covering the surface, a fragment of another bronze bracelet, a small stamped piece of gold and the Curmsun Disc itself. After its original discovery the hoard was left in the crypt until 1945, when an officer in the Polish ''Wojska Lądowe'' ( Land Forces),

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Stefan Sielski, and his brother, Michał, entered and seized what was left of it. The disc did not appear to be made of gold so it was placed in a box with old buttons. In 2014, Michał Sielski's 11-year-old great-granddaughter showed the disc to her history teacher and it was reported in the press on 5 December 2014.

Interpretation

Researchers have interpreted the inscription on the obverse as: "+ARALD CVRMSVN+ REX AD TANER+SCON+JVMN+CIV ALDIN+". CVRMSVN is a transliteration from spoken Old Norse via runes into the Medieval Latin alphabet. Old Norse word in Latin alphabet: G O R M S O N Written in runes (Younger Futhark): ᚴ ᚢ ᚱ ᛘ ᛋ ᚢ ᚾ Transliterated to Latin alphabet: C V R M S V N The same phenomenon could be seen in some coins from York in the tenth century where king is transliterated as CVNVNC but translated as KONUNGR (in English: KONUNGR). Old Norse in coin inscriptions ended after the tenth century. A full translation of the inscription reads: "Harald Gormson king of Danes, Scania, Jomsborg, town (or

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

) Aldinburg ( Oldenburg in Holstein)". On the reverse there is an octagonal ridge, which runs around the edge of the object. In the centre of the

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al ridge there is a Latin cross. There are four dots around the Latin cross. Similar dot markings are common on coins, even on coins from the late 900s. The four dots could possibly symbolize the four evangelists, whose symbols in the Middle Ages had strong associations with the Christ symbolism of the cross.

Dating theories

Around 960s - Harald Bluetooth's second marriage

Danish anthropologist Karen Schousboe conjectures that the Curmsun Disc could be a talisman or medallion, likely created after 963, although it is unclear if the disc is authentic or a fake.

Around 986 - Harald Bluetooth's death

According to a theory by Swedish archeologist Sven Rosborn, the Latin inscription on the obverse of the Curmsun Disc may have been created by a Frankish monk in connection with Harald Bluetooth's death around 986. Rosborn points out that

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

, the only historical source commenting on the death of Harald, says that Harald died in Jumne (Jomsborg) from his wounds. Yet, as Rosborn explains, Jumne probably did not have a Christian church, so Harald's body may have been buried, at least temporarily, in the nearest church located at Wiejkowo. Thus, the disc may have been placed near the burial. According to Rosborn,

"With the language use that was current at the time of Harald’s life, the inscription CIV + ALDIN should thus be linked with the previous town name umne The translation would then be "Jumne in the bishopric Aldinburg". Jumne was after all, according to Adam of Bremen, the place of King Harald's death, so the object’s closing inscription should thus, from a Christian point of view, pinpoint where Jumne was located."

Around 1100 – Harald Bluetooth canonized?

According to Danish archivist Steffen Harpsøe, the disc may have been created by local priests around Jomsborg and Wiejkowo between 1050 and 1125, if missionaries had canonized

. Harpsøe also stated that it is unclear if the disc is genuine.

Authenticity controversy

According to Danish history professor , the authenticity of the disc is heavily questionable. It resembles no other known artefact from the Viking age, and it is impossible to precisely date gold objects; even if the alloy is accurate, it might come from a melted down Viking age artefact. According to Jensen: “I believe, however, that it is pure fraud all the way. Immediately. If there is anything genuine in it, Rosborn has done what he could to make it look like a forgery.” Several other Danish professors, including Jes Wienberg and Jens Ulriksen, are equally dubious of the authenticity of the Curmsun disc and the associated ''Gesta Wuleniensis'', and are highly critical of Rosborn's arguments and use of historical sources.

Metallurgical analysis

The Curmsun Disc underwent electron microscopic analysis at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The analysis showed a non-homogeneous alloy with a gold content ranging between 83.3 and 92.8%. The surface and alloy showed characteristics typical for artefacts created during the latest part of the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. No traces of modern processes or chemicals were discovered. Surface analysis by a gemologist, Jonny Westling, appointed by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm and Lloyd's/Brookfield Underwriting, showed natural inclusions and patination.

Exhibition

The Curmsun disc is owned by an undisclosed company and deposited at a bank vault in Sweden. The disc's insured value is US$3.5 million and the valuation has been performed by Jonny Westling, an expert appointed by Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Lloyds/Brookfield Underwriting.

References

{{authority control 10th century in Denmark 10th-century inscriptions 1841 archaeological discoveries 1945 archaeological discoveries 2014 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Poland Art discs and ovals Artifacts in Norse mythology Exonumia Harald Bluetooth House of Knýtlinga Jomsvikings Viking Age in Denmark