first of the Golden Horns of Gallehus

The first of the Golden Horns of Gallehus (TM 173512 ) was discovered in a locality with that name in Denmark in 1639 by Kirsten Svendsdatter. Being a poor peasant she decided to donate the horn to the king. In 1734 a second horn was found only a few metres away, by one Erich Lassen. Being - again - a poor peasant, he donated it to the local count who in turn again gave it to the king. Both horns ended up in the Det kongelige Kunstkammer, now the National Archive, but can unfortunately no longer be seen there. In 1802 they were stolen by a goldsmith and melted down. The plaster casts that had been sent to a cardinal in Rome were lost in a shipwreck. The reproductions made on the basis of early publications were also stolen, one pair in 1993 and one in 2007.The horns date to the early fifth century AD and the Proto-Norse inscription on the second one is one of the oldest Runic inscriptions. It identifies the artist as Hlewagastiz Holtijaz.