'The detectors never stopped beeping!' Nearly 3,000 coins discovered in field are Norway's largest Viking hoard on record
Live Science • • general
Key Points:
- Archaeologists in Norway have discovered the largest Viking Age coin hoard ever found in the country, containing 2,970 silver coins from England, Germany, Denmark, and Norway near the village of Rena.
- The hoard, named the Mørstad Hoard, includes coins minted under notable rulers such as Æthelred II, Cnut the Great, Otto III, and Harald Hardrada, dating the deposit to around 1050.
- The coins suggest that Viking wealth in the region may have come from large-scale iron production and export from local bogs, rather than solely from raiding activities.
- Preservation of the hoard was aided by soil conditions, and archaeologists also uncovered hacksilver, used as currency in the Middle Ages, alongside the coins.
- Excavations continue at the site to uncover more items or evidence of a settlement, with experts noting the find as a unique and historically significant discovery.
