800-year-old treasure discovered in Viking settlement by amateur metal detectorist

It's surely one of the most common childhood dreams on the planet. Imagine, you are quietly strolling through a field (with your heart open to the unknown) when suddenly you observe something strange on the ground. A stone, a symbol, or anything that seems suspicious. You dig, and there under your amazed eyes, treasure several centuries old is revealed.

800-year-old treasure

This is (more or less) the story we are going to tell you. An amateur archaeologist had indeed the chance of his life by discovering an incredible array of 800-year-old treasure.

On 17 February, in northern Germany, a detectorist was training in the art of metal detecting. With the help of his metal detector and supervised by experienced archaeologists, the budding researcher quickly saw his efforts rewarded!

Earrings, brooches, rings, and coins

The result of the hunting? Ulf Ickerodt, director of the State Archaeological Department of Schleswig-Holstein, told LiveScience:

The hoard consisted of two very high quality gold earrings set with semi-precious stones, a gilded pseudo-coin brooch, two gilded stone-studded finger rings, a ring fragment, a small formerly gilded perforated disc, a ring brooch, and about 30 silver coins, some of them heavily fragmented.

This incredible treasure that he did not expect to discover dates back to the 12th century.

Buried 800 years ago, the composition of the exhumed riches testifies to a certain cosmopolitanism of the medieval European world between Scandinavia, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Baltic Sea.

Read more:

⋙ 1,100-year-old Viking treasure discovered in a common field by a local walker

⋙ Remarkable discovery of buried treasure in a 6500-year-old tomb (PHOTOS)

Read more ⋙ The shipwreck that sank 350 years ago has just unearthed priceless treasures

Viking, Islamic, and Byzantine treasure at the same time?

Archaeologists assume that this treasure would have been buried there after the disappearance of the UNESCO world heritage site of Haithabu, a Viking settlement in the region of Schleswig-Holstein, on the border between Germany and Denmark.

Ickerodt told LiveScience that 'they [the earrings] probably date to the time around and after 1100 and are in the tradition of Byzantine goldsmiths'.

Even more impressive, Islamic coins were found in the hoard that never cease to mix cultures. Marjanko Pilekić, a numismatist in Germany who was not involved in this study, told Live Science:

Islamic coins were well known in southern Scandinavia between the 9th and 11th centuries.

He said the money may have 'reached this area en masse through long-distance trade contacts, robbery, tribute, among others'.

Gold and precious stones

This cultural richness only adds to an unparalleled aesthetic beauty. Indeed, the state of preservation of the earrings also allowed experts to detect their composition. The gold is adorned with green, blue, and pink gems. Of different shapes and sizes, the coloured gems contribute to enhancing the gold.

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

LiveScience: 'Stunning gem-covered gold earrings discovered in 800-year-old hoard in Germany'