'Hammer of Thor' unearthed: Runes on 1,000-year-old amulet solve mystery of why Viking charms were worn for protection

• Legend says Thor’s hammer helped protect Asgard, home of the gods
• Thousands of Viking amulets similar to Thor’s hammer have been found
• This amulet discovery is the only one with the inscription ‘This is hammer’
• It finally ends the debate about whether amulets were a representation of Thor’s hammer

In Norse mythology, Thor’s hammer helped prevent giants from destroying Asgard, the celestial home of the gods.

Thousands of tiny intricate amulets, similar to this weapon, have been found all over the Viking world since the first millennium CE.

But for years, researchers have been unsure whether the amulets, known as ‘torshammere’, were a representation of Thor’s hammer or something else entirely.

Now, archaeologists have unearthed a 10th century torshammere in Købelev, on the Danish island of Lolland, that could finally end the debate on how Thor’s legend influenced Viking jewellery.

The latest find is unusual as it has runes inscribed that reads ‘Hmar x is’  meaning ‘This is a Hammer’.

‘It was the amulet’s protective power that counted, and often we see torshammere and Christian crosses appearing together, providing double protection’, said Peter Pentz, an archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark.

This object is cast in bronze and has traces of silver or tin and gold plating, according to a report in Past Horizons.

Mr Pentz said he grateful to the unknown rune writer who has confirmed that these amulets do depict Thor’s hammer – a lasting symbol of Viking culture.

The fact that the person who made the hammer was literate is a source of fascination for archaeologists.

They claim the amulet could indicate that literacy was widespread among craftspeople.

The runes range in height from 3 to 7mm, so it required precision to inscribe them onto the amulet.

As well as the torshammere, the archaeologists recovered fragments of silver needles and a mould for making brooches.

These suggest that there may have been a workshop producing jewellery nearby.

Museum Lolland-Falster, who reported the discovery, has no plans to excavate the Viking site at Købelev, but said it will continue metal detector surveys.

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