The hoard has approximately 700 silver objects, including silver bars, jewelry, 47 whole coins and coin fragments, and a small Thor's hammer, an object that was often interpreted as a sign of protection and a clue that its owner believed in the Norse pantheon of gods. About 320 of those objects were contained in a clay vessel, while the rest lay in the soil nearby. The treasure is nearly three times larger than the previous largest silver hoard from Denmark's Viking Age, according to a translated statement.
The anonymous individual found the roughly 1,100-year-old hoard while building a terrace in the municipality of Rebild this past spring. Unexpectedly, they hit something that emitted a strange sound. "It should have just been a few hours of hard gardening work removing stubborn grass, stones and gravel for a new tiled terrace, but it turned out to be the biggest surprise of my life," they said in the statement.
North Jutland MuseumsNorth Jutland Museums
There are also Islamic coins in the hoard, and together with the Anglo-Saxon coins, they offer evidence that Viking Age Denmark had strong connections with vast regions of Europe as well as with distant eastern regions, according to Torben Sarauw, cultural heritage manager at the North Jutland Museums. There is already ample evidence of the Islamic world's connections with Scandinavians during the Viking Age, including a recent discovery that Viking pennies in a hoard found in Denmark were made from melted Islamic money.
Some of the objects discovered in the person's backyard were inside a clay vessel. (Image credit: North Jutland Museums)
In fact, all the silver bars and some of the bracelets and silver fragments can be organized into specific weight groups. This indicates that the collection represented an important storage of wealth and not a random assortment.
Related stories"The treasure so clearly shows how silver functioned as wealth and a means of payment in the Viking Age," Sarauw added in the statement. "It's like finding a safe from the Viking Age."
The hoard is now being submitted for assessment at the National Museum of Denmark.
See how much you know about ancient norsemen with our Viking quiz!
Hence then, the article about biggest surprise of my life homeowner discovers denmark s largest viking age silver hoard in their backyard was published today ( ) and is available on Live Science ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 'Biggest surprise of my life': Homeowner discovers Denmark's largest Viking Age silver hoard in their backyard )
Also on site :