Found Thor’s Hammer ‘Mjölnir’

By ThorNews on March 12, 2013 • ( 0 )

(Photo: NRK.no)

Last fall, in a field in Eidanger, Porsgrunn, Jarle Andersen found a Thor’s hammer silver pendant with his metal detector. It probably dates back to 1000-1100 AD. Brooches and jewelery were also hidden in the field.

– There are many years since the last time someone has found Thor’s hammer from that era. In Telemark County, such findings are not recorded in over 20 years, says County Archaeologist Åsne Dolve Meyer to NRK.no.

Jarle Andersen tells that he first and foremost was looking for old coins that he can earn some money from.

– Many people are dreaming of finding a Thor’s Hammer, and it is certainly very rare, says Andersen.

Used by the Wealthy

It is already known that there are several burial mounds in this area of Porsgrunn. The jewelery therefore probably belonged to people who were buried in the late Viking Age.

-People began to wear Thor’s hammer jewelery when Norway was Christianized. The Norse part of the population had a need to show their faith, tells Meyer.

– Who were using these pieces?

– Probably those who had money and power and who were buried with them. However, many of the tombs were plundered, thus there is few Thor’s hammers.

Meyer says that the jewelery is protected. The findings have been shipped to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo so that they can be preserved for posterity.

Thor’s Hammer ‘Mjölnir’ – Facts

In Norse mythology, Mjölnir is the hammer of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Distinctively shaped, Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains. Though generally recognized and depicted as a hammer, Mjölnir is sometimes referred to as an ax or club.

In the 13th century Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson relates that the Svartálfar Sindri, the brother of Brokkr, made Mjölnir while in a contest with Loki to see who could make the most wonderful and useful items for the Gods and Goddesses in Asgard.

The Prose Edda gives a summary of Mjölnir’s special qualities used by Thor:

… would be able to strike as firmly as he wanted, whatever his aim, and the hammer would never fail, and if he threw it at something, it would never miss and never fly so far from his hand that it would not find its way back, and when he wanted, it would be so small that it could be carried inside his tunic.

The drawing shows a 4.6 cm gold-plated silver Mjölnir pendant found at Bredsätra in Öland, Sweden. The original is housed at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.

Text modified by: Thor Lanesskog, ThorNews