The hoard had been divided into two deposits and buried in birch-bark containers. Although the coins and jewelry likely date to between A.D. 1000 and 1050, it's unknown exactly when they were buried, Esko Tikkala, an archaeologist at the Lahti Historical Museum who excavated the hoard, told Live Science in an email.
Metal detectorist Kalle Lappinen found the two deposits Sept. 3 and immediately contacted the museum. Archaeologists inspected and properly excavated the finds the next day, according to a translated statement.
The coins were discovered in early September by metal detectorist Kalle Lappinen (right). (Image credit: Kalle Lappinen)Although it's challenging to determine why specific hoards were buried, a recent study of more than 15,000 Roman-era (the eighth century B.C. to the fifth century A.D.) hoards found that they were hidden for multiple reasons, including for tax evasion, votive offerings, and safe storage in times of uncertainty.
Tikkala added that the coins came from areas that corresponded to present-day Germany, Sweden and Great Britain. There were also some dirhams — silver coins made in the Islamic world. Dirhams previously found in Finland generally date to between about 800 and 1050, he said.
In addition to the silver coins from many places, the hoard contains items of silver jewelry and "hack silver" used for payments. (Image credit: Lahti Museum)The weight of the precious metal alone would make the hoard worth almost $10,000 today.
From the Viking Age, but not from Vikings
"The term Viking Age does not imply that there were Vikings in Finland," he said. "We have no sources suggesting that Finland was 'Viking' in the same sense as regions of present-day Sweden, Norway, and Denmark."
The hoard had been placed in two bark containers that were then buried several feet apart. (Image credit: Lahti Museum)
The next stage of the archaeological investigation will be to properly study the site where the two deposits were found, as well as their surroundings, Tikkala said; after that, specialists in Viking Age coins will try to identify the coins and prepare a detailed report.
Related stories"There will definitely be scientific articles published on the hoard as a whole, as well as more detailed studies of the coins themselves," he said.
Other Nordic countries have also recently reported their largest Viking Age hoards. A cache of more than 4,700 coins was found in Norway this past spring, and a homeowner in Denmark unexpectedly discovered a hoard of more than 700 silver objects weighing more than 40 pounds (18.5 kg) in their backyard, also in the spring.
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