The ring was found during excavation of a Viking grave from the ninth century.
The excavation and the discovery of the ring happened already late in the1800s, and over the years it has been believed that silver ring had a violet amethyst engraved with Arabic letters.
However, a recent analysis of the ring, made with an electron microscope, shows that what one thought was an amethyst really is stained glass, which during the Viking era was a very exotic and valuable material.
And the inscription reads "For Allah" in Arabic.
The findings, presented in the journal Scanning, is according to scientists "the only ring with Arabic inscription found in a Scandinavian excavation " and therefore constitutes "evidence for direct interaction between Scandinavian Vikings and the Islamic world."
We all know how the Vikings "interacted" with others. With 5 psychoactive Amanitas in the belly, protruding eyes and with the sword held high, they went berserk on whoever they met, robbed, raped and slaughtered them, including English priests, and apparently also Muslims.
The ring was found in the old commercial center of Birka in Sweden.
Birka is located in Björkö in Uppland and was established in the mid 700's. In its prime it had perhaps between 800-1000 inhabitants. The commercial town was an important hub for trade in the Nordic countries with the rest of Europe and is regarded as Sweden's first town.
The Swedish archaeologist and ethnographer Hjalmar Stolpe conducted a systematic excavation of Björkö during the 1870s and 1880s.
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