Photo Credit: Knut Erik Røsrud / NRK
In April of this year, the largest ever Viking Age coin discovery in Norway was made. The remarkable findings dethrone the previous largest Viking Age coin hoard made almost 200 years ago.
The coins were found by two hobby metal detectorists: Rune Sætre and Vegard Sørlie. After unearthing 19 silver coins, they realized the potential significance of what they stumbled upon and contacted authorities. Archaeologists have since uncovered 2,970 coins. That number is expected to increase as excavation continues.
The coins were located in a field in eastern Norway, near the village of Rena.
Seven of the coins from the newly discovered hoard, which is the largest of its kind ever found in Norway.
Photo Credit:
Innlandet County Council
One of the archaeologists, May-Tove Smiseth, spoke on the momentous discovery saying, “…To see the quality of the coins…They have been preserved so well that they almost look newly minted.” Experts from the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History examined the coins and noted that some are foreign and some are local coins from the period between 980 and 1047 C.E.
The coins bear rulers names from that time, such as Cnut the Great and Harald Hardrada. The museum experts believe that the coins were buried in the late 1040s, though the reason as to why they were buried remains unclear. However, it is thought that the coins were scattered by a plough at some point, making them harder to discover.
Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, spoke on the findings, saying “This is a historic discovery. The fact that it is also from the Viking Age makes it even more spectacular…this is a discovery that all of Norway deserves to experience.”
The hunt to collect more coins is still under way, and the archaeologists believe there is still much to learn from the incredible find. More history will come to light after the coins are catalogued and studied.