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argent coins and jewellery unearthed from a battleground on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark are revealing newfangled brainstorm into the reign and religious ambitions of the powerful Viking king Harald Bluetooth , accord to archaeologist .
The objects — around 300 pieces of silver , including about 50 coin and cut - up jewelry — were discovered late last year by a local archaeology group surveying a farm northeast of the town of Hobro and near Fyrkat , aring fort establish by Harald Bluetoothin about A.D. 980 .
One of the Arabic silver coins from the Viking hoards found near Hobro. The two hoards comprised more than 300 pieces of silver, including about 50 coins and cut-up jewelry.
Excavations show that the valuable were in the beginning bury in two hoards about 100 feet ( 30 meter ) aside , likely beneath two now long - pop off building . Since then , these cache have been spread around by farm machinery .
It seems that whoever sink the treasure was deliberately separate it up in case one hoard was lost , saidTorben Trier Christiansen , an archaeologist involved with the find and curator at the Museums of North Jutland .
Although some news outlets have reported that the spotter was a young girl , the first of the hoarded wealth were in fact located by an adult woman with a metallic element detector . " But she is very flattered , " Trier told Live Science .
The roughly 300 pieces of silver, including about 50 coins, were found using a metal detector in a field on Jutland in Denmark late last year.
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King’s coinage
Many of the pieces are"hack silver " or " hacksilber,“which was often silver jewelry cut into pieces and trade by weight . But a few are silver-tongued coins , which archaeologist determined were from Arabic and Germanic land , as well as from Denmark itself .
The Danish coins are exciting to archaeologists because they admit " hybridization coins " struck during Harald ’s Bluetooth ’s sovereignty in the 970s and 980s . Harald had exchange frompagan Norse beliefsto Christianity , and spreading his Modern faith was part of his architectural plan to amalgamate the war Viking clan of Denmark .
" put crosses on his coins was part of his strategy , " Trier said . " He ante up the local nobility with these coin , to set a case in point during a transitional time period when multitude cherished the old gods as well . "
Several of the silver pieces are parts of a single very large silver brooch, probably seized during a Viking raid, which has been cut up into “hack silver” to trade by weight.
Both hoards also contain parts of a very enceinte silver breastpin that would have been worn by a king or noble and was belike seized in a Viking raid . But this flair of brooch was n’t wear in Harald Bluetooth ’s lands , and so it was cut up into several pieces of hack silver or else , he articulate .
archeologist will return to the site subsequently this year , Trier summate , hopefully to learn more about theViking Age(A.D. 793 to 1066 ) building that stood there .
Harald Bluetooth
archeologist are n’t sure why Harald gain the soubriquet " Bluetooth " ; some historian propose he may have had a prominent tough tooth , as the Norse Son for " blue tooth " translates to " blue - inkiness tooth . "
His name inhabit on today in the Bluetooth wireless networking banner , which aims to merge communication between different equipment . Harald unified Denmark and , for a fourth dimension , was also king of part of Norway ; he rule until 985 or 986 , when he died fight off a insurrection led by his son , Sweyn Forkbeard , who succeeded him as king of Denmark .
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A prominent cross on one side of some of the Danish coins found suggests they were minted late in the reign of the powerful Danish king Harald Bluetooth, about A.D. 980. Here we see a close up of the cross side of the silver coin.(Image credit: Nordjyske Museer, Denmark)
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Jens Christian Moesgaard , a numismatist at Stockholm University who was not involve in the discovery , said the Danish coin seem to be from late in Harald Bluetooth ’s reign ; the dates of the foreign coin do not contravene this .
The location where the silver was found is very close to the site of Fyrkat, which was one of several distinctive ring forts built by Harald Bluetooth throughout Denmark.(Image credit: Nordjyske Museer, Denmark)
" This raw bivalent hoard brings important new evidence that sustain our interpreting of Harald ’s coinage and baron , " he say . The coins were probably shell out at the king ’s newly build up fortress at Fyrkat . " It is indeed very probable that Harald used these coin as gifts for his men to control their allegiance , " he noted .
The crosses on the coins hint Christianity was a key part of the queen ’s design . " By the Christian iconography , Harald fan out the message of the young religion at the same juncture , " Moesgaard said .
The silver was found late last year on a farm near the town of Hobro in the north of Jutland by a metal detectorist with a local archaeology group.(Image credit: Nordjyske Museer, Denmark)
Archaeologists plan to return to the site later this year, hopefully to find more artifacts and the buried remains of buildings that stood there during the Viking Age.(Image credit: Nordjyske Museer, Denmark)
