The Dorestad Brooch ~
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, probably ending up there after one of the many viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a major trading hub on the River Rhine close to the North Sea.
Created around 775–800 AD, during the reign of Charlemagne.
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, probably ending up there after one of the many viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a major trading hub on the River Rhine close to the North Sea.
Created around 775–800 AD, during the reign of Charlemagne.
January 30, 2026 at 12:36 PM
The Dorestad Brooch ~
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, probably ending up there after one of the many viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a major trading hub on the River Rhine close to the North Sea.
Created around 775–800 AD, during the reign of Charlemagne.
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, probably ending up there after one of the many viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a major trading hub on the River Rhine close to the North Sea.
Created around 775–800 AD, during the reign of Charlemagne.
Since beads were so popular last week, for #FindsFriday here are a few of the bead types from Dorestad, catalogued by Mette Langbroek in her fascinating article in Dorestad and its Networks, open access here: www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
October 24, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Since beads were so popular last week, for #FindsFriday here are a few of the bead types from Dorestad, catalogued by Mette Langbroek in her fascinating article in Dorestad and its Networks, open access here: www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
For #FindsFriday, a beautiful comb with case from Carolingian #Dorestad, c.8thC AD, rediscovered yesterday by serendipity in our store for organic materials 🤩 there were more combs, and leather, and textile - to be continued!
March 14, 2025 at 7:42 AM
For #FindsFriday, a beautiful comb with case from Carolingian #Dorestad, c.8thC AD, rediscovered yesterday by serendipity in our store for organic materials 🤩 there were more combs, and leather, and textile - to be continued!
Een dag of tien geleden is in Wijk bij Duurstede Museum #Dorestad heropend, gewijd aan een zeer belangrijk maar weggemoffeld stukje geschiedenis van Nederland.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/12/22/m...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/12/22/m...
Museum Dorestad heropend (1) - Mainzer Beobachter
In december 2025 werd in Wijk bij Duurstede Museum Dorestad heropend. Wat was Dorestad en waarom is dit museum zo belangrijk?
mainzerbeobachter.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Een dag of tien geleden is in Wijk bij Duurstede Museum #Dorestad heropend, gewijd aan een zeer belangrijk maar weggemoffeld stukje geschiedenis van Nederland.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/12/22/m...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/12/22/m...
Analysis of the Dorestad brooch shows it was modified in antiquity so that it could be fastened with small nails to another object, perhaps a casket or book cover. Read more about the Dorestad brooch in this article by Annemarieke Willemsen:
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
Dorestad, a medieval metropolis
The Dorestad year In the Netherlands, 2009 turned out to be the year of Dorestad, with a large exhibition in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, which was seen by over sixty-six thousand vis...
www.academia.edu
January 3, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Analysis of the Dorestad brooch shows it was modified in antiquity so that it could be fastened with small nails to another object, perhaps a casket or book cover. Read more about the Dorestad brooch in this article by Annemarieke Willemsen:
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
Yesterday, finally saw large mural of Dorestad Brooch (c.800 AD, in @rmoudheden.bsky.social Leiden) in Wijk bij Duurstede at exact spot where it was excavated in 1969, painted in 2024 🤩 #dorestad #fibuladiva
December 13, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Yesterday, finally saw large mural of Dorestad Brooch (c.800 AD, in @rmoudheden.bsky.social Leiden) in Wijk bij Duurstede at exact spot where it was excavated in 1969, painted in 2024 🤩 #dorestad #fibuladiva
Dit najaar gaat in Wijk bij Duurstede het vernieuwde Museum Dorestad open. Dat werd tijd ook; #Dorestad is immers, zonder veel overdrijving, de plek waar de economische geschiedenis van Nederland is begonnen.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/07/14/m...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/07/14/m...
July 14, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Dit najaar gaat in Wijk bij Duurstede het vernieuwde Museum Dorestad open. Dat werd tijd ook; #Dorestad is immers, zonder veel overdrijving, de plek waar de economische geschiedenis van Nederland is begonnen.
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/07/14/m...
mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/07/14/m...
The Dorestad Brooch
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, possibly ending up there after one of the viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a trading hub on the River Rhine & close to the North Sea.
The raids started in 810.
The town of Dorestad was sacked in 834 & annually for the next 3 years.
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, possibly ending up there after one of the viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a trading hub on the River Rhine & close to the North Sea.
The raids started in 810.
The town of Dorestad was sacked in 834 & annually for the next 3 years.
January 30, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The Dorestad Brooch
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, possibly ending up there after one of the viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a trading hub on the River Rhine & close to the North Sea.
The raids started in 810.
The town of Dorestad was sacked in 834 & annually for the next 3 years.
Found in 1969 at the bottom of a well, possibly ending up there after one of the viking raids that plagued Dorestad, a trading hub on the River Rhine & close to the North Sea.
The raids started in 810.
The town of Dorestad was sacked in 834 & annually for the next 3 years.
This beautiful cloisonné brooch is made of gold, garnet, multicolored glass and pearls. It dates to the time of Charlemagne & was discovered in a well in Dorestad. What a great find.
🕰️ c800 AD
🏛️📷Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 🇳🇱
#FindsFriday
🕰️ c800 AD
🏛️📷Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 🇳🇱
#FindsFriday
May 15, 2026 at 1:01 PM
This beautiful cloisonné brooch is made of gold, garnet, multicolored glass and pearls. It dates to the time of Charlemagne & was discovered in a well in Dorestad. What a great find.
🕰️ c800 AD
🏛️📷Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 🇳🇱
#FindsFriday
🕰️ c800 AD
🏛️📷Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 🇳🇱
#FindsFriday
Got some lovely stories about that find, but of course can't talk about that: #Dorestad #fibula 😂#archaeology
Something lovely for the weekend!
The Dorestad Brooch, c. AD 800.
This beautiful Carolingian brooch was found at the bottom of a well in the Netherlands in 1969!
Gold inlaid with almandines, pearls, glass, and enamel. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden 📷 AlexanderVanLoon www.rmo.nl/en/collectio...
The Dorestad Brooch, c. AD 800.
This beautiful Carolingian brooch was found at the bottom of a well in the Netherlands in 1969!
Gold inlaid with almandines, pearls, glass, and enamel. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden 📷 AlexanderVanLoon www.rmo.nl/en/collectio...
January 5, 2026 at 2:39 PM
It's coming! book of 2024 #Dorestad Congress @rmoudheden.bsky.social with new research into towns & their visitors 800-1100 AD, from Quentovic to #Rome, with guest appearance for Halley's comet on #Bayeux Tapestry 🌠 out later this year, can be ordered now:
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press
Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...
www.sidestone.com
May 9, 2025 at 8:25 AM
It's coming! book of 2024 #Dorestad Congress @rmoudheden.bsky.social with new research into towns & their visitors 800-1100 AD, from Quentovic to #Rome, with guest appearance for Halley's comet on #Bayeux Tapestry 🌠 out later this year, can be ordered now:
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Analysis of the Dorestad brooch shows it was modified in antiquity to fasten it with small nails to another object, perhaps a casket or book cover. Read more about the Dorestad brooch in this article by Annemarieke Willemsen
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
Dorestad, a medieval metropolis
The Dorestad year In the Netherlands, 2009 turned out to be the year of Dorestad, with a large exhibition in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, which was seen by over sixty-six thousand vis...
www.academia.edu
January 22, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Analysis of the Dorestad brooch shows it was modified in antiquity to fasten it with small nails to another object, perhaps a casket or book cover. Read more about the Dorestad brooch in this article by Annemarieke Willemsen
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
www.academia.edu/8027463/Dore...
Last week, while dismantling exhibition about Corvey & the Legacy of Antiquity in Diozesanmuseum Paderborn, we were able to compare Enger purse reliquary (Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin) & Dorestad brooch @rmoudheden.bsky.social, both c.800 AD & maybe from same workshop. Exciting!
February 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Last week, while dismantling exhibition about Corvey & the Legacy of Antiquity in Diozesanmuseum Paderborn, we were able to compare Enger purse reliquary (Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin) & Dorestad brooch @rmoudheden.bsky.social, both c.800 AD & maybe from same workshop. Exciting!
Interested in early medieval history? Read the proceedings of the latest Dorestad conference online FREE here, including my chapter about gold and silver in Frisia after Dorestad's disappearance in the 850s. For a .pdf of my chapter, DM/email me. #medievalsky
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press
Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...
www.sidestone.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Interested in early medieval history? Read the proceedings of the latest Dorestad conference online FREE here, including my chapter about gold and silver in Frisia after Dorestad's disappearance in the 850s. For a .pdf of my chapter, DM/email me. #medievalsky
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
“Legendarische wereldhaven Dorestad komt tot leven door reusachtige maquette: ‘Eindelijk’” www.ad.nl/wijk-bij-duu... 12 december is de officiële opening en vanaf 13 december is het museum open voor publiek. Zie ook www.museumdorestad.nl
Legendarische wereldhaven Dorestad komt tot leven door reusachtige maquette: ‘Eindelijk’
De legendarische handelsplaats Dorestad uit de achtste en negende eeuw echt beleven? Dat kan in Museum Dorestad dat op 13 december na een jarenlange lijdensweg opengaat in het stadhuis op de Markt in ...
www.ad.nl
November 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
“Legendarische wereldhaven Dorestad komt tot leven door reusachtige maquette: ‘Eindelijk’” www.ad.nl/wijk-bij-duu... 12 december is de officiële opening en vanaf 13 december is het museum open voor publiek. Zie ook www.museumdorestad.nl
Happy birthday #Fibula! Famous #Dorestad brooch of c.800 AD from #Leiden Museum @rmoudheden.bsky.social, gold with precious stones, was found #OTD in 1969 🎉
Last year, she starred in #Paderborn exhibition & met kindred #Enger reliquary of Kunstgewerbemuseum #Berlin, posing for press 📽 #fibuladiva
Last year, she starred in #Paderborn exhibition & met kindred #Enger reliquary of Kunstgewerbemuseum #Berlin, posing for press 📽 #fibuladiva
July 18, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Happy birthday #Fibula! Famous #Dorestad brooch of c.800 AD from #Leiden Museum @rmoudheden.bsky.social, gold with precious stones, was found #OTD in 1969 🎉
Last year, she starred in #Paderborn exhibition & met kindred #Enger reliquary of Kunstgewerbemuseum #Berlin, posing for press 📽 #fibuladiva
Last year, she starred in #Paderborn exhibition & met kindred #Enger reliquary of Kunstgewerbemuseum #Berlin, posing for press 📽 #fibuladiva
They were pillagey. Grumble, Dorestad, grumble. 😉
June 10, 2026 at 10:25 AM
They were pillagey. Grumble, Dorestad, grumble. 😉
Great to see the proceedings of the 4th Dorestad Congress published! My own chapter on late medieval memories of Dorestad (OA 🔓) demonstrates how its legacy became increasingly apocryphal over time, eventually turning the emporium into an abstraction of mythical proportions!
doi.org/10.17613/d51...
doi.org/10.17613/d51...
Life after Dorestad: Late Medieval Memories of an Erstwhile Emporium
This paper offers an overview and analysis of Dorestad's depiction between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, drawing on a broad-ranging regional corpus of chronicles, hagiographies, and associated...
doi.org
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Great to see the proceedings of the 4th Dorestad Congress published! My own chapter on late medieval memories of Dorestad (OA 🔓) demonstrates how its legacy became increasingly apocryphal over time, eventually turning the emporium into an abstraction of mythical proportions!
doi.org/10.17613/d51...
doi.org/10.17613/d51...
One theory is it was thrown into the well for safekeeping and later retrieval during a Viking attack. The wealthy medieval trade town of Dorestad was attacked by Vikings on a number of occasions.
January 4, 2026 at 10:36 AM
One theory is it was thrown into the well for safekeeping and later retrieval during a Viking attack. The wealthy medieval trade town of Dorestad was attacked by Vikings on a number of occasions.
The Dorestad Brooch (800 AD) was found in 1969 at the bottom of a well in Wijk bij Duurstede. Likely made in a Swiss or Burgundian workshop.
📍 National Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands
📍 National Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands
December 20, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The Dorestad Brooch (800 AD) was found in 1969 at the bottom of a well in Wijk bij Duurstede. Likely made in a Swiss or Burgundian workshop.
📍 National Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands
📍 National Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands
Just uploaded to Knowledge commons another book chapter - the whole volume can be read or downloaded at books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de//propylaeum/...
Dorestad and the North: Frankish Connections to Scandinavia
works.hcommons.org/records/ez2e...
Dorestad and the North: Frankish Connections to Scandinavia
works.hcommons.org/records/ez2e...
Dorestad and the North: Frankish Connections to Scandinavia
Dorestad was the most important port in northern Europe under Charlemagne, but disappeared in the later 9th century. New insights from numismatics now reveal how changing patterns of trade with Scandi...
works.hcommons.org
December 3, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Just uploaded to Knowledge commons another book chapter - the whole volume can be read or downloaded at books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de//propylaeum/...
Dorestad and the North: Frankish Connections to Scandinavia
works.hcommons.org/records/ez2e...
Dorestad and the North: Frankish Connections to Scandinavia
works.hcommons.org/records/ez2e...
Ik vind @verstwee.bsky.social een erg sympathiek initiatief, want we hebben een goed algemeen cultuurplatform nodig, dus ik ben blij een bijdrage te hebben mogen leveren over de heropening van Museum #Dorestad. Jammer dat de koning het niet kwam openen - serieus.
verstwee.nl/jona-lenderi...
verstwee.nl/jona-lenderi...
Nederland krijgt deel van aloude verleden terug: Museum Dorestad heropend - Vers Twee - Literatuur, popmuziek, beeldende kunst
Museum Dorestad in Wijk bij Duurstede is Jona Lendering dierbaar. Nu het na acht jaar is heropend, ging hij dan ook meteen kijken, want ‘het documenteert een weggemoffeld maar belangrijk deel van het ...
verstwee.nl
December 20, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Ik vind @verstwee.bsky.social een erg sympathiek initiatief, want we hebben een goed algemeen cultuurplatform nodig, dus ik ben blij een bijdrage te hebben mogen leveren over de heropening van Museum #Dorestad. Jammer dat de koning het niet kwam openen - serieus.
verstwee.nl/jona-lenderi...
verstwee.nl/jona-lenderi...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press
Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...
www.sidestone.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:18 PM
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !