Metal Detector Unearths Viking Horde Worth Millions
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The most significant Viking hoard discovered in Britain in the last 150 years has been unearthed by David Whelan and his son Andrew on farmland near Harrogate, in northern England.
Photo British Museum
After unsuccessful previous attempts, a signal led them to a single coin. The Whelans kept on digging and unveiled a glittering haul of gold and silver Viking treasure, reports Daily Mail.
David Whelan, who spends his weekends metal detecting with his son Andrew said, “It’s a thing of dreams to find something like this. If we had found one coin we would have been over the moon.”
“It’s a fascinating find, it’s the largest find of its type of over 150 years since the 1840 discovery of the Cuerdale Hoard.â€? said Gareth Williams, an expert at the British Museum who examined the items. The Cuerdale Hoard yielded a mass of 8,500 silver coins, chains, and amulets.
The trove of coins and jewelry was buried more than 1,000 years ago — a collection of items from Ireland, France, Russia and Scandinavia, testifying that the Vikings traveled far further than previously thought.
After first finding the coin, the pair continued digging, finding a silver bowl more than a foot beneath the soil. Under British law, any find that might be historically significant must be reported to the authorities.
The pair turned the bowl over to archaeological experts, who discovered it was packed with coins and jewelry. The bowl, a 9th-century gilt silver container probably seized by Vikings from a monastery, had been used as an improvised treasure chest before being buried. Photo Stefan Rousseau – AP
Some of the coins mixed Christian and pagan imagery, shedding light on the beliefs of newly Christianized Vikings, said Gareth Williams. The hoard is conservatively estimated to be worth around $1.5 million US.
The booty was likely accumulated through a combination of commerce and warfare, Williams said. Its quantity indicated that at least some of it was taken by force, perhaps in raids on northern Europe or Scandinavia, he added.
Unveiled at the British Museum, the ‘Harrogate hoard’ includes the decorated gilt and silver cup, 617 silver coins, a solid gold arm ring, brooch pins and various clumps of unworked silver.
Experts said the 5-inch cup — which is decorated with animal motifs — was made in northern France in the 9th Century and was probably used in church services.
The coins date from the 10th Century and come from all over Anglo-Saxon England as well as from parts of Asia.
The necklaces, one of which is made of solid gold, are evidence that the hoard belonged to a Viking noble.
Barry Ager, curator of European objects at the British Museum said, “It is an extremely exciting find, not just because it is the biggest and best for 150 years. The fact that the items come from all over the world shows the huge extent of the Vikings’ commercial links.”
He said it is likely that its owner would have buried it for safekeeping in 927 when the Anglo-Saxons under King Athelstan drove the Vikings out of northern England.
The Whelans refused to divulge the location of the field but said they have been back many times and found nothing else of value.
The items are first sent to the British Museum, where experts write a report. The Coroner then uses this report to determine whether the items are treasure.
If they are, they are valued and offered to the museum to buy. The find has been declared treasure and it’s expected that the British Museum will try to buy it.
The Whelans are expected to keep half the value of the treasure, with the other half going to the North Yorkshire farmer whose field it was found in.
Related stories:
Richest Shipwreck Treasure Discovery in History Fetches $500M
130 Year Old Outhouses – Treasure Trove for Artifacts
Very interesting and amazing. Thank you for your comments on my blog.
This is a great article. Talk about the cool stuff that you can potentially find with a metal detector. They definitely found the find of a lifetime.
Thanks for sharing!
DetectorBase – Metal Detecting Experiences
You have a wonderful blog! It’s awesome! I enjoyed my visit, thank you very much!
That was a very cool story. You always hear about people spending their time searching for treasure with metal detectors, and it’s good to know that there is still real treasure out there for them to find!
As a Norwegian, I like to know more about the Vikings and this was very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful stuff Deborah, now I know where I stashed all my treasures all those years ago lol
Thanks Boyd, nice to see you here
DetectorBase, this story would appear to have particular interest to you. Do you have any unusual finds that you’ve heard of that you’d like to share with us?
Missy Sue, thanks so much! Do come back and visit.
Renny, we rarely hear of anything that pertains to the Vikings. This certainly does help to shed some light on their history.
Colin, you might want to speak with the British museum about your secret stash before they split the booty with the others
Hello admin
Obviously, I’m a metal detecting nut.. been doing it since I was real young. I’ve had some fun finds over the years.. but nothing compared to what as mentioned here. Being from the States.. and the N.W. part.. you can’t get much older than the 1860s. I’ve found a few great old coins and relics.. still waiting to find my first gold coin.. maybe someday.
Oh.. and thanks for checking out the site and sending the nice email!!!
DetectorBase – Metal Detecting Experiences
Thanks DetectorBase, and feel free to call me Deborah. Sometimes the system recognizes me as admin, other times by my name
I understand full well what the thrill of the hunt is all about, so I know where you’re coming from. I go thru it each day looking for my next story.
My pleasure, you have a very professional site, I was impressed
puff…puff…..finally got here !!!!!
Dave thinks he might be related to the vikings…so do you think he might be in line for a small piece of the fortune???…:x
Hmmm, Dave may have a little competition with Colin here, Kim. Worth a try, hehe.
I MUST say, that reading stories like the Viking Treasure trove both keep me awake at night AND make me DREAM about it when I DO finally fall asleep!
Great story!
It keeps the Dream alive!
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