Mystery or the unexplained · 2019
A Gotland woman's brooch at Varja
In spring 2019 a fully preserved bronze brooch shaped like a small box was found in the village of Varja in Ida-Viru County. Only two such brooches have ever been found in Estonia. It was cast in one piece, and its animal ornament in the so-called Broa style dates it to the end of the 8th or the 9th century. Only the pin, apparently of steel, was missing. It lay on the edge of a former wetland, where a lone farmstead probably stood in the Viking Age. Archaeologist Mauri Kiudsoo believes it belonged to a woman born on Gotland, where such brooches were in wide use, who later settled in Viru. The Eastern Route of Viking trade ran along this coast.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
2019. aasta kevadel leiti Ida-Virumaalt Varja külast täielikult säilinud karbikujuline pronkssõlg. Eestist on selliseid sõlgi leitud vaid kaks. See oli valatud ühes tükis ja selle nn Broa stiilis loomornament dateerib selle 8. sajandi lõppu või 9. sajandisse. Puudu oli ainult nõel, mis oli ilmselt terasest. Sõlg lebas endise märgala serval, kus viikingiajal asus tõenäoliselt üksik talu. Arheoloog Mauri Kiudsoo arvates kuulus see Gotlandil sündinud naisele, kes asus hiljem elama Virumaale, sest Gotlandil olid sellised ehted laialt kasutusel. Seda rannikut mööda kulges viikingiaja tähtis Idatee.