Infopanel 25

Arabic-inscribed ring 

Found: Birka, grave Bj 515 (Björkö, Lake Mälaren).  
Birka has been a major Viking-Age trading centre. The extensive excavations were led by Hjalmar Stolpe (1871–1895). 

Birka’s cemeteries surround a trading settlement whose contacts stretched far beyond the Baltic. During the large-scale excavations led by Hjalmar Stolpe, grave goods revealed imported materials - coins, glass, textiles - and, in this case, an inscribed ring that points specifically to the Arabic-speaking world. Its power lies in its burial context: an imported object integrated into local identity at death.