According to a recent report, a young girl who was metal detecting in a cornfield last autumn discovered nearly 300 silver coins believed to be more than 1,000 years old near a Viking fortress site in northwestern Denmark. The rare hoard was found in two spots not far apart and includes Danish, Arab, and Germanic coins, as well as pieces of jewelry originating from Scotland or Ireland.
The trove, believed to date back to the 980s, was found about five miles from the Fyrkat Viking ring fort near the town of Hobro, and is set to be put on display at the North Jutland museum.
(North Jutland museum)
Lars Christian Norbach, director of the museum, called the hoard “very rare” and noted that it would provide significant insight into the history of the Vikings. “The two silver treasures in themselves represent an absolutely fantastic story, but to find them buried in a settlement just eight kilometers from Harald Bluetooth’s Viking castle Fyrkat is incredibly exciting,” said Torben Trier Christiansen, museum archaeologist, and curator, in a statement.
(North Jutland museum)
Notably, the silver coins found in the hoard all have cross inscriptions, a feature that King Harald’s earlier coins did not have. The museum suggests that King Harald likely introduced the cross coins as propaganda in connection with his Christianization of the Danes.
There could be a link between the treasure, which the Vikings would bury during wars, and the fort which burned down during the same period, Norbach said.
Archaeologists plan to continue digging in the area next autumn after the harvest in the hopes of finding the burial sites and homes of the troves’ one-time owners. The Vikings believed that burying their treasure allowed them to find it again after death.
The artifacts will go on public display from July at the Aalborg Historical Museum, and the girl who made the discovery will receive financial compensation, the amount of which has not been made public.