A Finnish Metal Detectorist Was Shocked to Unearth a Trove of Viking Age Silver in His Hometown. Then His Detector Went Off Again
Weighing a combined ten pounds, the artifacts are estimated to be 1,000 years old and constitute Finland’s largest coin hoard of the era
Finland's largest collection of Viking Age silver has been discovered by a metal detectorist near the town of Sysmä, about 95 miles north of Helsinki. The hoard contains nearly 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of coins and jewelry, buried in two birch-bark containers. Archaeologists have not yet fully cleaned, sorted, or counted the thousands of pieces found.
Kalle Lappinen, the metal detectorist who made the discovery, contacted the museum immediately after finding the two deposits on September 3. The hoard's coins and jewelry likely date between A.D. 1000 and 1050. While it's challenging to determine the exact time of burial, it is unclear if the hoard was buried by Vikings. The area around the hoard was not known to be a Viking settlement, and the surrounding region had not been thoroughly studied.
The coins in the hoard came from present-day Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain, along with some dirhams from the Islamic world. In addition to the silver coins, the hoard also includes jewelry and hack silver, pieces of silver that could be cut into smaller pieces for payments. The value of the precious metal alone in the hoard is roughly $10,000.
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