Backyard treasure hunt: homeowner digging a patio unearths 1,000-year-old Viking treasure
One homeowner's patio plans hit silver when a backyard renovation uncovered roughly 700 pieces of Viking treasure.
A homeowner in northern Denmark set out to build a new patio and ended up uncovering the country’s largest known hoard of Viking silver instead. The roughly 1,000-year-old treasure includes hundreds of coins, pieces of jewelry, silver bars, and even a tiny Thor’s hammer. Apparently, one person’s backyard renovation is another Viking’s long-lost savings account.
The discovery was made in June in Rebild, northern Jutland, after the homeowner encountered metal around half an hour into digging. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the eventual haul included roughly 700 artifacts weighing more than 40 pounds, with experts dating the treasure to the tenth century.
Around 320 objects had been placed inside a pottery vessel, while others were scattered nearby. Archaeologists still don’t know exactly why someone buried such an extraordinary collection there, but more than a millennium later, one homeowner’s patio plans unknowingly became an archaeological excavation.
This Patio Came With a 1,000-Year-Old Upgrade
While this may sound like it escaped from the pages of a Viking fantasy book, it’s all very real. The hoard contains bracelets, chains, 47 coins and coin fragments, and numerous silver bars. Some of those bars appear to have been deliberately grouped by weight, suggesting the collection was carefully organized according to value.
One bar even carries runes that researchers think may read “hutu,” possibly representing a name or ownership mark. Other finds reveal just how far Viking-era trade networks stretched.
Two silver pennies were minted during the reign of English king Edward the Elder, while other coins are dirhams bearing Arabic inscriptions. Torben Sarauw, head of cultural heritage at North Jutland Museums, said the discoveries offer insight into an economy in which silver served as currency, trade bullion, and stored wealth.
Then there’s arguably the collection’s smallest showstopper: a silver object shaped like Thor’s hammer. Similar amulets were worn during the Viking Age, giving this backyard haul one artifact that wouldn’t look entirely out of place in the Marvel universe. We wouldn’t be surprised if a tiny version of the god of thunder showed up, reclaiming his tiny hammer and recruiting the homeowner as an Avenger.
Apparently, the homeowner didn’t just strike silver. They struck a little thunder too.
Denmark Just Got a Much Bigger Silver Medal
The Rebild discovery easily outweighs Denmark’s previous second-largest Viking silver collection, the approximately 14.5-pound Terslevskat hoard. North Jutland Museums hopes the newly discovered artifacts can eventually be exhibited at the Fyrkat Viking Museum.
Under Danish rules governing archaeological treasure, the find must be handed over to the state, although the homeowner is expected to receive financial compensation. So no, the approximately 40 pounds of Viking silver probably won’t be funding that patio directly. What it might be funding, however, is the inspiration to dig around your backyard to strike gold, or in this case, silver and tons of history.
What the homeowner uncovered may prove more valuable to historians anyway. Experts say the collection dates to a period when the Danish kingdom was developing and Christianity was spreading through Scandinavia. This new discovery offers researchers another glimpse into Viking wealth and trade, and how treasure can be found right under our noses if the desire for a new patio is strong enough.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
