Archaeologists have discovered more than 3,100 Viking Age coins in a field in eastern Norway. It is the largest discovery of Viking coins in Norway to date. The surprisingly well-preserved coins from this Mørstad hoard were buried around the year 1050 – although why and by whom is unclear. In addition to its size, this coin hoard also stands out because, in addition to the German and English coins that were common at the time, it also contains Norwegian coins.
The Vikings not only carried out raids on the surrounding coasts, they also had an extensive long-distance trading network. Silver coins, which had been looted from ships or monasteries, for example, were often used as currency. On the other hand, Northern Europe did not have its own mints until the late Viking era. Therefore, coins in circulation were mainly from German, English or Islamic mints. “You could describe these coins as the euro or US dollar of the Viking Age,” explains May-Tove Smiseth, an archaeologist in the Norwegian province of Innlandet.
“The metal detectors wouldn’t stop beeping”
All the more exciting is a hoard of coins that Smiseth and her colleagues discovered in a field near the town of Rena in eastern Norway. After two amateur treasure hunters using metal detectors found the first coins on April 10th, they notified the province’s archaeologists, who then systematically continued searching the field. Within a few days, the team came across around 3,150 coins from the late Viking Age. “This is unprecedented, the detectors never stopped beeping,” says Smiseth. “We have previously found Viking coin hoards with around 2,000 coins, but never more than 3,000. This is truly extraordinary.”
“It was absolutely incredible to see these coins emerge from the ground. They are so well preserved that they almost look like they were freshly minted,” says Smiseth, describing her first impressions. This treasure was probably buried around the year 1050, as the team determined based on the coinage. According to these, most of the coins in the find dubbed the “Mørstad Hoard” are of English or German origin. “This is typical of coin finds in Northern Europe,” explains coin expert Svein Harald Gullbekk from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.
Rare Norwegian coins
What is special about the Mørstad hoard, however, are some coins minted in Norway. They must have been freshly minted at the time of burial, as Gullbekk explains. It was only the Norwegian King Harald III, also known as Harald Hardrada, who began to introduce a national currency system after his accession to the throne in 1047. “The discovery of the coin hoard is therefore extraordinary not only because of its size, but also because it is linked to a particularly interesting period in Norwegian history,” said the researcher.
However, it is unclear who once buried these coins in the field and why. “Someone used this piece of land as a safe and hid their assets there,” says Gullbekk. “This was quite common for people back then – it was the safest thing you could do.” The coins from the Mørstad hoard were probably originally packaged in a leather or fabric bag, but this bag has deteriorated over the centuries. Gullbekk estimates that the 3,000 silver coins would have been enough to purchase a farm and a piece of land. It is unknown why the owners of the coins did not retrieve them from their hiding place. Later, when the field was plowed again and again, the coins were scattered all over the field.
So far there is no evidence of a Viking Age building or settlement in the area around the coin hoard. During initial investigations using ground-penetrating radar, the archaeological team did not find any relics of foundations or other building remains. However, Gullbekk assumes that an expansion of the search will unearth further finds. “I’m curious to see whether there are traces of buildings nearby, whether there was perhaps a farm there at the time or other man-made structures,” said the researcher.
Source: Science Norway, / Innlandet County Municipality