13-Year-Old Boy Stumbles Upon Royal Treasure with Metal Detector on Isolated German Island
The Daily Galaxy • • technology
Key Points:
- In January 2018, hobbyist metal detectorists Rene Schoen and Luca Malaschnitschenko discovered Viking silver on the German island of Rügen, sparking a major archaeological excavation.
- The dig uncovered nearly 600 coins, jewelry, and artifacts, with about 100 coins dating directly to the reign of Viking King Harald Bluetooth (958-986 CE), including some of the earliest Danish coins featuring Christian crosses.
- The treasure is believed to have been buried during a turbulent period when Harald Bluetooth possibly fled Denmark after his son Svein Forkbeard's takeover in the 980s, supported by similar finds on nearby islands.
- This discovery is considered the largest single find of Bluetooth-era coins in the southern Baltic Sea region, highlighting its significant historical importance.
- The Bluetooth wireless technology is named after King Harald Bluetooth, inspired by engineers who chose the codename during the development of the wireless standard in 1997 due to its Viking association.
