The Valkyrie from Hårby

The Valkyrie from Hårby is a small figurine in silver, likely representing a valkyrie, from the Viking Age. It was found by an amateur archaeologist near the village of Hårby on the island of Fyn.

The Hårby figurine

The figurine is 3,4 cm tall and made in guilded silver, and parts of the figurine are coloured with niello.[1] The figurine represents a women clad in a long patterned skirt. Her eyes are very clearly delineated and her hair is tied in the back of her neck. In her right arm, she holds a sword, while the left arm holds a round shield with a salient shield boss.[1][2]

Archaeologists have interpreted the figurine as clearly representing a Valkyrie,[1] who in Norse mythology brought fallen warriors to Valhalla. There is a small number of other finds of jewelry representing Valkyries from the 9th century, but this one is unique in being in 3D, whereas the others are in 2D.[1]

Many finds have been made in Hårby from the Iron Age and the beginning of the Viking Age, such as a gold rod, silver coins and bronze ornaments. An excavation has revealed several pit-houses in the area that have served as workshops. Many old pieces of ornaments have been found that were to be reforged into new ones. The Valkyrie is assumed to have been made in one of the pit-houses.[1][2]

The figurine is exhibited the National Museum of Denmark.[1]

In 2015 a 2 m tall wooden sculture representing the Valkyrie from Hårby was raised in Assens. The sculture weights between 300 and 400 kg.[3][4]