Metal detectorist found a 5-centimetre-tall figurine in a field near Mesinge, Denmark. The figurine shows a man with a beard and a impressive headdress with two “horns”. Experts believe it comes from 8th century and represents the Nordic god Odin.

Archaeologist Malene Refshauge Beck from the states that the “horns” are in fact birds, called Hugin and Munin. They were two trusted raven companions of the god. Similar brooches with helmeted or bird-carrying warriors are known from several unusual and rich Viking sites.  Some of them have bird heads at the tips of the horn-like features. This Odin-figure is believed to be originally part of a brooch, a so-called ring brooch, worn by a Viking man between 700 and 800 AD.

(after Vikinge Museet Ladby)