Someone Was Digging In Their Backyard When They Discovered The Largest Viking Silver Hoard In Denmark

This past spring, a homeowner in the Rebild municipality of Denmark was building a terrace in their backyard when they came across the largest silver hoard from the Viking Age in the country. There was more than 40 pounds of silver buried in the ground.

The individual had been digging up grass, gravel, and stones for a new tiled terrace for about half an hour. Suddenly, they struck something that emitted a strange sound.

At first, it sounded like old metal or wire, but further digging by hand revealed silver bars, 47 coins, jewelry, and a small Thor's hammer from Norse mythology.

In total, the silver hoard contained approximately 700 items. About 320 objects were found in an original clay vessel, while the rest lay in the soil around the vessel. The collection is almost three times larger than the Terslev Hoard, the previous largest Viking Age silver hoard in Denmark.

One of the silver bars is engraved with runes, which were the writing system that people in Scandinavia used during the Viking Age. The inscription might refer to someone's name or an owner's mark.

Among the coins, there were two silver Anglo-Saxon pennies minted during the rule of King Edward the Elder. He was king from 899 to 924. This suggests that the silver hoard dates back to the 10th century.

Additionally, Islamic coins were found. Their presence, along with the Anglo-Saxon coins, indicates that Viking Age Denmark had close ties to vast areas of Europe, as well as faraway eastern regions.

The newly discovered hoard showcases how people in Viking Age Denmark organized, stored, and hid their wealth. The multiple bars, bracelet parts, and other silver pieces grouped around certain weight ranges suggest that the silver was deliberately arranged as a store of wealth rather than a random assortment of items.

"When we analyze the weight of the silver objects, the treasure reveals information about the economic practices of the Viking Age," said Torben Sarauw, the cultural heritage manager at the North Jutland Museums.

Outsiderzone - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person - pictured above is a Viking

"The treasure does not only consist of beautiful objects. Most of them are part of a structured value system by weight."

"The treasure so clearly shows how silver functioned as wealth and a means of payment in the Viking Age," Sarauw added. "It's like finding a safe from the Viking Age."

It is unclear why such a large amount of silver was buried. The hoard was discovered in a modern, developed area, so a full-scale archaeological excavation is not possible to conduct. Long ago, the area might have been near a Viking settlement, next to a road used for travel, or a secluded, remote place.

Now, it has been submitted for assessment at the National Museum of Denmark. The museum hopes to display the hoard in the future.

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