Amulets from Viking-age Baltic coast: A unique hoard from Piaski-Dramino (Poland) in the light of provenance and technological research of silvercraft art

•Post-Great Moravian silver kaptorgas made of silver obtained from resmelting of Asian dirhams.•Early medieval silver artifacts from the Piaski-Dramino hoard are made by use of Asian silver (dirhams) and silver and lead from Upper Silesia and Kraków region.•Until the 9th of the 10th c the Czechs had access to ore and silver from Kraków and Upper Silesia land. This technological and provenance analysis of metal artifacts from a unique Viking-age hoard found in Piaski-Dramino (NW Poland) reveals an expansive trade network. Particular attention was paid to kaptorga type amulets made in post-Great Moravian style. X-ray spectroscopy (XRF, EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for elemental composition and structural imagesto fingerprint the techniques used by silversmiths. Pb and Ag isotope analysis combined with trace element compositions show that high-quality silver bullion was obtained mainly from the resmelting of Asian dirhams. Silver and lead from the Upper Silesia and Kraków regions were also used in this period. Research results are confirmed by incomplete historical sources that the Kraków land and Upper Silesia from the 9th to the end of the 10th c. were under Czech rule. This can be associated with the Czech elite's desire to access the silver and lead sources.