Viking silver treasure discovered in Sweden

Archaeologists from Arkeologerna have discovered a 1000-year-old Viking-era silver hoard in Viggbyholm, Täby, outside Stockholm.

Viking silver treasure discovered in SwedenViking silver treasure discovered in Sweden. Credit: The Archaeologists

The discovery was made while excavating a Viking settlement in Täby, an area believed to have been inhabited for hundreds of years.

The remnants of more than 20 houses and buildings were discovered, with the earliest dating from around 400 AD and continuing into the Viking Age (800-1050 AD) and early Middle Ages.

The treasure was discovered beneath a wooden floor in a building. The coins were placed in a linen pouch, which had been put into a small ceramic pot together with the jewelry.

It is now unclear why the inhabitants chose to bury some of their most valuable objects. However, several theories exist.

“One common interpretation is that people hid and buried their treasures in difficult and tumultuous times. We have yet to see if that was the case here,” said archaeologist John Hamilton,

“When I started to carefully remove the neck rings one by one, I had this extraordinary feeling of “they just keep coming and coming”. In total there were eight high-quality torque-style neck rings, extraordinary well preserved despite having been made and deposited almost a thousand years ago. They looked almost completely new,” said Maria Lingström at The Archaeologists, National Historical Museums in Sweden.

“This is something you probably only experience once in a lifetime”, she added.

Related Posts

Lighthouse of Alexandria rises again as 22 mᴀssive blocks resurface from the seafloor after 2,000 years

Lighthouse of Alexandria rises again as 22 mᴀssive blocks resurface from the seafloor after 2,000 years

After centuries underwater, 22 huge stone blocks of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, have been recovered from the…

Rare medieval knight tombstone discovered in heart of Gdańsk

Rare medieval knight tombstone discovered in heart of Gdańsk

A team of archaeologists from ArcheoScan has unearthed a unique medieval tombstone depicting a knight during an excavation in the historic center of Gdańsk, Poland. The tombstone…

Roman cavalry swords lead to discovery of Iron Age settlement and possible Roman villa in Gloucestershire

Roman cavalry swords lead to discovery of Iron Age settlement and possible Roman villa in Gloucestershire

A recent archaeological discovery near Willersey, Gloucestershire, has uncovered an Early Iron Age to Roman-period settlement following the discovery by a novice metal detectorist of two extremely…

Copper Age infant discovered in Italian well reveals rare genetic origins

Copper Age infant discovered in Italian well reveals rare genetic origins

Archaeologists in northeastern Italy have discovered a remarkable find in a well near Faenza, close to Ravenna: the highly degraded remains of an infant who lived 4,000…

Fisherman uncovers remarkably preserved medieval sword in Warsaw’s Vistula River

Fisherman uncovers remarkably preserved medieval sword in Warsaw’s Vistula River

In an unprecedented and rare find, a sword dating back to the medieval period was pulled out of the bottom of the Vistula River by a fisherman…

Ancient sloth bone from Uruguay shows signs of possible human-inflicted trauma 33,000 years ago

Ancient sloth bone from Uruguay shows signs of possible human-inflicted trauma 33,000 years ago

Researchers have discovered evidence of human interaction with megafauna considerably earlier than the widely accepted arrival of humans in South America. A 33,000-year-old right calcaneus (heel bone)…