A prospector has found a rare gold earring, probably from the Middle East, in a field in West Jutland (Denmark) – probably a gift from the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chieftain. Such a work of art had never before been found in Scandinavia. Since last Monday, December 6, 2021, the piece of jewelry found by Vestergaard has been on display at the National Museum […]

A prospector has found a rare gold earring, probably from the Middle East, in a field in West Jutland (Denmark) – probably a gift from the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chieftain. Such a work of art had never before been found in Scandinavia. Since last Monday, December 6, 2021, the piece of jewelry found by Vestergaard has been on display at the National Museum in Copenhagen

Treasure hunting with metal detectors is becoming increasingly popular. Archaeologists are observing this trend, which is partly due to the development of increasingly powerful professional equipment, with concern, as it is all too easy to lose knowledge about the circumstances of a find through unprofessional excavation. On the other hand, cooperation with treasure hunters can also lead to new findings.

Following the spectacular discovery of a golden miniature Bible from the 15th century in a field in the county of Yorkshire, another amateur treasure hunter has now made a find: A man in Denmark has found a thousand-year-old gold earring in a field. 54-year-old Frants Fugl Vestergaard lives in the small Danish town of Ringkøbing and is a passionate treasure hunter. He discovered the jewelry in a field in West Jutland using a metal detector, according to the National Museum in Copenhagen. The earring probably came from Byzantium or Egypt and was probably a gift from the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chieftain, the statement continued. We know that the Vikings maintained trade relations as far afield as the Orient and even traveled to Constantinople on occasion from a 9th century runic inscription in the Hagia Sophia. There, a traveler from the north proudly proclaims: “Halvdan was here.”

With Vikings: hardly any jewelry as souvenirs

Since last Monday, December 6, 2021, the piece of jewelry found by Vestergaard has been on display at the National Museum in Copenhagen. “It is completely unique for us,” said museum curator Peter Pentz. “We only know of ten to twelve other specimens in the world and have never found one in Scandinavia. The Vikings would have brought back thousands of silver coins from their forays, journeys and trading expeditions, but hardly any jewelry,” said Pentz. He was surprised by the location of the find, as there is no known Viking site in the vicinity. Gold from Byzantium had previously been found as grave goods in Viking graves.

Who brought the gold earring to Denmark?

The earring consists of a crescent-shaped gold plate set in a frame of gold threads decorated with small gold balls and gold bands. The motif features two stylized birds around a plant symbolizing the tree of life. How the piece of jewelry came to Scandinavia remains a mystery. Researchers speculate that a Viking may have received the earring from the Byzantine emperor for his services as a bodyguard. Almost exclusively Scandinavians served in the so-called Varangian Guard, which was formed in 988 when the Kiev Grand Duke Vladimir I sent 6,000 Vikings to Emperor Basileios II. It is known from Icelandic legends that Scandinavian mercenaries returned home with silk and weapons, and it is also said that the emperor occasionally gave his bodyguard fine gifts. Another possibility is that a pilgrim brought the jewelry home.

Reading tip: In 2014, archaeologists in Oberding (Erding district) came across a deposit of almost 800 Early Bronze Age barbed ingots. After extensive restoration work and scientific analysis, scientists presented the sensational find in 2017, which can be admired in the Erding Museum. Read more here.

Architectural firms are currently faced with the question: should they continue using their existing CAD software or switch to the future? Because 3D modeling and BIM are becoming increasingly important. “We used the software we’ve always used – but at some point we couldn’t get any further.” This is the almost unanimous tenor of architectural firms that have decided to switch […]

Architectural firms are currently faced with the question: should they continue using their existing CAD software or switch to the future? Because 3D modeling and BIM are becoming increasingly important.

“We used the software we’ve always used – but at some point we couldn’t get any further.” This is the almost unanimous opinion of architectural firms that have decided to switch to ARCHICAD software. The manufacturer of the program, GRAPHISOFT, asked the architects about their motives and uncovered some interesting facts.

The 2D/3D issue is at the forefront of the reasons for switching. Many offices use software solutions that are still heavily reliant on two-dimensionality. This is not the case with ARCHICAD, where working directly on the 3D model has always been at the heart of the system. You can plan intuitively and quickly on a central model. Every change also appears automatically in all floor plans, views and sections.

This is not only extremely time-saving – it is also better suited to today’s working habits, especially those of young architects. They want to move quickly into modeling, work on the living object, so to speak, and quickly deliver presentable, veritable results. Andreas Kleboth from Linz can also observe this in his office: “We have many employees who are familiar with ARCHICAD from their studies and are therefore very experienced and very fast at creating 3D models.”

A quicker sense of space, conditions and atmosphere: this is what more and more clients are demanding. This is where many of those surveyed see ARCHICAD’s great trump card. Architect Johannes Berschneider from Pilsach describes it like this: “The final icing on the cake are the clients, who sit here with their mouths open, watching and ‘walking through the building’.” He is referring to the 3D representations with which ARCHICAD enables impressive virtual building inspections virtually at the touch of a button.

Building Information Modeling is increasingly required in tenders in order to ensure an efficient project process across all phases and between all planning participants.

Training for the changeover

Almost all offices took advantage of the extensive training and support offered by GRAPHISOFT and its local partners. For architect Irene Kristiner from Graz, the ARCHICAD basic course was particularly helpful: “The program’s functions were explained to us right from the start, we were able to work with it directly, ask our questions and receive direct feedback.”

Interesting information portal

What do the individual architects think about their software? Why did they decide to switch to ARCHICAD? And how did the changeover go? GRAPHISOFT has set up an interesting information portal with film clips about various architecture firms in Germany and Austria. More information here.

Credit for all images: Alex Brunner, www.vonbrunner.com