Science2 min read
Science
Homeowner Digging Backyard Terrace Finds Denmark's Largest Viking Age Silver Hoard
A Danish homeowner building a backyard terrace unearthed roughly 18.5 kilograms of silver artifacts, now confirmed as the country's largest known hoard from the Viking Age.
Step by step
- 1
Homeowner digs backyard terrace
- 2
Finds buried silver objects
- 3
Researchers analyze the hoard
- 4
Confirmed as Denmark's largest Viking silver hoard
While building a terrace in their backyard, a homeowner in Denmark uncovered more than 40 pounds (18.5 kilograms) of thousand-year-old silver buried in the ground.
An analysis of the find revealed it is the largest (793 to 1066) silver known to researchers in Denmark. The hoard contains approximately 700 silver objects, including silver bars, jewelry, 47 whole coins and coin fragments, and a small — a pendant shaped like the weapon of the Norse god Thor, often interpreted as a sign of protection and a clue that its owner believed in the Norse pantheon of gods.
About 320 of the roughly 700 objects were contained in a clay vessel, while the rest lay in the soil nearby.
The hoard is nearly three times larger than the previous largest silver hoard from Denmark's Viking Age, according to a translated statement.
Terms explained
The story so far
- Europe's Largest 3D-Printed Housing Project Completed in Denmark
- Researchers Recreate 8,000-Year-Old Reed Boat to Test Neolithic-Era Sailing Off Israel's Coast
- 80,000-Year-Old Arrowheads From Uzbekistan May Rewrite the Route Humans Took Into Europe
- Ancient Pottery From Arabia Functioned Like a Brand 3,200 Years Ago, Study Finds
- Bones of Ancient Egyptian Princesses Show They Used the Weapons in Their Tombs
- Tel Aviv Study Uses Dead Sea Scrolls to Solve Qumran Calendar Mystery
- Homeowner Digging Backyard Terrace Finds Denmark's Largest Viking Age Silver Hoard
#Vikings#Denmark#archaeology#silver hoard
Rate this story