1000 year old Viking silver treasure

A 1,000-year-old hoard of silver necklaces, bracelets and coins has been discovered in Viggbyholm, Sweden, near Stockholm. Some of the coins come from Bohemia and other European countries, others are of Arabic origin. The quality of preservation of the jewellery and coins is remarkable, they are like new.

The treasure was found during an archaeological survey of a Viking settlement in an area that had been continuously inhabited for several hundred years. Archaeologists have found more than 20 houses and buildings, the oldest of which date from around 400 AD. Other finds date back to the early Middle Ages, while others date from the Vikings (800 - 1050 AD). The assemblage was deposited under the former wooden floor of a residential building. The coins lay in a linen bag, which was placed in a small ceramic vessel along with the jewellery. Some fragments of the bag have been preserved, a rare opportunity to study a thousand-year-old organic material.

"When I started to carefully remove the necklaces one by one, I had this extraordinary feeling, and more (jewels) kept coming. In total, we found eight high-quality necklaces decorated with tording. They are extremely well preserved, even though they were made and stored almost a thousand years ago. They look almost brand new," said archaeologist Maria Lingström from the National History Museum of Sweden.

In addition to the necklaces, two bracelets, one ring, two pearls and 12 coin pendants were found in the ceramic pot. Why the inhabitants of the time decided to hide some of their most valuable objects is not clear at the moment. However, there are several theories. Most often, people hid and buried their treasures during difficult and turbulent times. "We need to find out if that was the case here," says archaeologist John Hamilton.

The coins are evidence of connections and flourishing long-distance trade in Viking-era Scandinavia. Several of the coins are of European origin, including Bohemia, England or Bavaria. The set also contained 5 Arab coins, called dirhams. One extremely rare coin was minted in the city of Rouen in Normandy, France. It dates from the 10th century AD. According to Professor Jens Christian Moesgaard of Stockholm University, this type of coin had previously been identified from drawings in an 18th century book.

Archaeologists have also found other objects in the area, such as arrows or beautiful amulet rings. But the discovery of the silver treasure was somewhat unexpected. "It's something you probably only experience once in a lifetime," Maria Lingström concluded.

Roman Nemec

Sources: arkeologerna.com, ancientpage.com

Archaeologist Maria Lingström in the foundations of the house

A unique treasure from the age of Vikingů has been discovered near Stockholm

A rare Norman coin from Rouen

Cleaning one of the bibs

A rare Norman coin from Rouen - the other side

Fragments of the bag have lasted over 1,000 years