Viking coins.Photo: Nordjyske Museer
A young girl made a surprising discovery while using a metal detector in Denmark: 1,000-year-old Viking coins.
The rare discovery was made near a Viking castle in northwestern Denmark, aDanish museum said in a press release Thursday.
Within the 300 pieces of silver that were found, around 50 were said to be whole coins. The trove — believed to date back to the 980s — included a mixture of Danish, German and Arab coins, according to archaeologists.
The girl unearthed the silver while using a metal detector in a cornfield last autumn.
“A hoard like this is very rare,” Lars Christian Norbach, director of theNorth Jutland museumwhere the artifacts will go on display,told Agence France-Presse.
Viking coins.Nordjyske Museer
The coins were found about five miles from the Fyrkat Viking ringfort, near the northern town of Hobro.
As well as the coins, the trove also included two pieces of jewelry originating from Scotland or Ireland, according to archaeologists.
“The two silver treasures constitute a fantastic story in themselves, but to find them abandoned in a settlement only eight kilometers from Haralds Blåtand’s Viking fortress Fyrkat is incredibly exciting,” archaeologist and museum inspector at North Jutland Museums, Torben Trier Christiansen, said, according to the release.
Archaeologists have said that they will continue digging at the site next autumn after the harvest. And while they do not believe they will discover any more silver treasures, they hope to find the homes and burial sites of the troves' one-time owners.
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The coins and silver will go on display to the public from July 1 at the Aalborg Historical Museum in Denmark.
As for the young girl who made the discovery, she will also receive financial compensation for her findings, but the amount has not been made public,according to CBS News.
source: people.com
