The Late Iron Age was marked by extensive contact with the British Isles. The Vikings raided and stole both objects and people. Some even stayed and established new communities there.

 

Archaeological findings show westward communication before the Viking Age as well, and all encounters may not have been equally violent. A beautiful Irish bronze triangular bowl, with an internal strainer in one corner and bird-shaped ear-handles, was found in a female grave from before the Viking Age at Skei in Sparbu. The grave also contained an Irish ladle.

 

A ring buckle found at Rungstad in Steinkjer has a typical Irish shape, but with strikingly Nordic decor. We can’t tell where, or by who, this was made. But it remains a good example of how different cultural expressions merge.