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Thousands of Viking Age Silver Coins Unearthed in Finland’s Largest Hoard
A metal detectorist has uncovered Finland’s largest known Viking Age coin hoard, revealing thousands of silver coins buried near the town of Sysmä. The coins have a preliminary total weight of approximately 4.5 kilograms, more than twice that of the country’s previous record-holding find. The discovery is still largely concealed beneath soil and corrosion. Because…
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Repaired Viking Brooch Found with Rare 1,300-Year-Old Clothing in a Child’s Grave
A child buried in western Denmark during the Viking Age was laid to rest wearing two oval brooches that preserved fragments of wool and linen clothing. One of the brooches had been repaired before the burial, raising the possibility that it was already an old or valued possession. The grave was excavated in 2024 at…
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1,000-Year-Old Christian Cemetery in Norway Reveals Unusual Multiple Burials
Archaeologists investigating a 1,000-year-old Christian cemetery in Norway have uncovered 15 skeletons, including adults and children. Several of the graves contain two or more people, making the burial ground at Valum unusual for an early medieval rural community. One grave at Valum, near Hamar, held four individuals placed closely together, while others contained three or…
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A Waste Heap at a Norwegian Quarry Hid Seven Medieval Stone Crosses
A heap of broken stone at Hyllestad in western Norway concealed more than ordinary quarry waste. Buried among the debris were fragments of seven medieval stone crosses, including pieces from monuments that may once have stood several metres high. The discovery was made in 2008 during an excavation led by University of Bergen archaeologist Irene…
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14 Saxon Silver Pennies Found Near Maldon Reveal England’s Viking-Age Anxiety
The small Essex hoard dates to a troubled reign marked by Viking pressure, Danegold payments and political instability in Anglo-Saxon England Ethelred the Unready is once again at the center of England’s Viking-age story after a hoard of 14 Saxon silver pennies was discovered near Maldon in Essex. The coins, struck for King Ethelred II…
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More Than 3,000 Coins Reveal Norway’s Largest Viking Age Silver Hoard
The first signal revealed only a handful of silver coins. Then the field near Rena kept answering. What began on April 10 as a metal detector discovery in eastern Norway has grown into one of the most important archaeological finds ever made in the country: more than 3,000 coins from the late Viking Age. The…
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Gold Pendant Found in England Does Not Fit the Viking Age and Depicts John the Baptist
A small gold pendant discovered in eastern England is forcing historians to confront an unexpected contradiction. The object, dated to the 9th century, belongs to a period when Vikings controlled much of the region. Yet it clearly depicts a central figure of Christianity: John the Baptist. That combination should not exist within the same historical…
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Over 500 Viking Horse Artefacts Discovered in Sweden, with Horses Cremated Beside Their Owners
In central Sweden, archaeologists have uncovered an extraordinary Viking Age burial site where horses were cremated alongside their owners, accompanied by more than 500 pieces of equestrian equipment. The discovery, made at Sylta near Köping in Västmanland, is now being recognized as one of the most distinctive horse-related assemblages ever found in Scandinavia. What initially…
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Rare Nordic Iron Age “Gold Man” Found in Norway After 127 Years
In southwestern Norway, a metal detectorist has uncovered a rare gullgubbe—a delicate gold foil stamped with the image of a man and a woman—dating to the Nordic Iron Age (c. 550–793 A.D.). Despite measuring just 1 centimeter in length, the object may offer critical clues about a forgotten ceremonial landscape. A Rare Find in Rogaland…