Viking silver hoard reveals trade routes from England to the Islamic world

Credit: University of Oxford.

A remarkable Viking treasure uncovered in North Yorkshire has revealed that Viking wealth stretched far beyond raiding monasteries and coastal towns.

New research shows that much of the silver in the famous Bedale hoard actually came from long-distance trade networks linking England, Scandinavia, and even the Islamic world.

The study, led by Dr. Jane Kershaw, Associate Professor of Viking Age Archaeology at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology, analyzed 29 silver ingots and several pieces of jewelry found in the hoard, which dates to the late ninth or early tenth century.

Using geochemical techniques, researchers traced the origins of the silver and discovered that while some came from Western Europe—likely melted down from Anglo-Saxon or Carolingian coins obtained through raids or ransom—nearly a third came from Islamic dirhams, silver coins minted in regions corresponding to modern-day Iran and Iraq.

The presence of this silver points to Viking participation in vast trade routes.

Known as the Austrvegr or “eastern way,” these routes connected Scandinavia to the Islamic Caliphate, with traders moving goods, coins, and precious metals across Russia and Central Asia.

From there, silver flowed into Scandinavia and eventually reached Viking settlers in England.

“This study helps us move beyond the stereotype of Vikings as simple raiders,” explained Dr. Kershaw. “Yes, they looted monasteries, and some of that wealth ended up in the Bedale hoard. But they were also skilled traders who tapped into global markets. When they settled in England, they brought not only weapons but also wealth from as far away as the Middle East.”

The Bedale hoard itself reflects this cultural blend. Alongside the ingots are elaborately crafted neck-rings and jewelry, some of which were made by melting down and reworking silver from both Western and Eastern origins.

One particularly striking neck-ring, formed from multiple twisted rods, appears to have been cast from a mixture of Islamic and European silver—possibly produced in northern England itself.

To reach these conclusions, the team combined lead isotope analysis with trace element studies, in collaboration with the British Geological Survey. This allowed them to identify three main sources of silver in the hoard: Western European coinage, Islamic dirhams, and blends of both.

They also found evidence that Viking metalworkers in both Scandinavia and England refined the silver using local materials, such as lead from the North Pennines.

This points to sophisticated metalworking techniques and an active bullion economy, where silver was regularly melted, recast, and circulated.

The research challenges older views that Viking wealth in England came mainly from violence. Instead, it shows that their economy was highly interconnected, drawing on trade routes that spanned continents. Raiding and tribute-taking were part of the picture, but so was commercial exchange and the recycling of imported silver.

“I love to think that Bedale—now a quiet English market town—was once part of this vast Eurasian network,” said Kershaw. “The Vikings were not only extracting wealth from England, they were also bringing global wealth into England.”

The study, published in Archaeometry, highlights how modern scientific techniques can shed new light on the economic foundations of Viking settlement.

It confirms that Viking Age England was not an isolated frontier, but a key node in a global web of commerce stretching thousands of miles—from the British Isles to Baghdad.