Riksantikvarieämbetet

When the intriguing phenomenon of Balt influence on the design of Migration Period brooches in certain parts of Norway was paid attention to in 2001, in the first and so far only comprehensive study of this subject, just four specimens of such cruciform or square-headed brooches with star- or spade-like foot had been recorded in Denmark. Since then, the number of Danish finds of this type has quadrupled, to judge from scattered examples occurring in print or posted on the web. In the present article, eleven such examples compiled from various sources, and two previously unpublished finds made in 2019 by one of the authors while metal detecting in collaboration with Danish museums, are reported and commented on. Whether these finds in Denmark represent Norwegian "exports" or a direct Balt influence on Danish design is at present an open question. Both alternatives might be valid in view of other archaeological finds, as exemplified in the article.