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Early 2021, Ole Ginnerup Schytz he bought a metal detector so he could pursue one of his favorite hobbies: his archeology hobby. A friend gave him permission to “play” for a while on land he owned. Hours later, he returned with news that was confirmed a few days ago: he found one of the greatest golden treasures in Denmark’s pre-king history.
Subsequently, the site was excavated by professional archaeologists from Vejlemuseerne, in collaboration with experts from the National Museum and with funding from the Agency for Culture and Palaces. They managed to extract 22 unique items.
Archaeologists now know that the treasure was buried about 1500 years ago. The studies, along with the many samples and data collected, will provide invaluable knowledge about the connections and circumstances that led to the burial of the treasure by a powerful ruler of the town of Vindelev in the Iron Age.
The golden treasure weighs a kilo. There are 22 pieces of incalculable value for their cultural richness.
The discovery of the enormous amount of gold shows that Vindelev was a center of power at the end of the Iron Age.
“Only a member of high society could have collected a treasure like the one found here”, explains the head of research at Vejlemuseerne, Mads Ravn.
Vindelev’s treasure consists of beautifully decorated saucer-sized medallions, the so-called bracteates. There is also roman coins which have become jewels. They occur in combination and with techniques comparable examples of which have never been seen. Therefore, experts describe the quality of this discovery as unique.
Among the coins are coins and saucers made with a technique never seen before.
“It is the symbols of the objects that make them unique, more than its value in gold, which is one kilogramRavn added.
Among the coins there is also one that refers to the Roman Emperor Constantinebeginning of the 4th century According to the first examinations, the treasure may have been buried as an offering to the gods at a time of severe climate change, when temperatures got very cold after a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 536, which covered the sky with clouds of ash generating fear and famine.
“There are a lot of symbols, some never seen before, which will allow us to broaden our knowledge of the people of this period, ”he noted. Ravn
They believe the treasure was buried by a senior member of Viking society as an offering to the god Odin.
The treasure was found near Jelling, in southwestern Denmark, who according to historians has become the cradle of the Viking kings between the 8th and 12th centuries.
It will be exhibited at the Vejle museum as part of the great viking exhibition which opens on February 3, 2022.
One of the finds is a bract which has a man’s head with a braid and various runes. Under the head you see a horse and a bird with which man communicates. There is a runic inscription between the muzzle and the front legs of the horse, which according to preliminary interpretations says “Houa”; ‘great’.
Part of the team of archaeologists who collaborated in the meticulous work of extracting the buried pieces.
For researchers, the appearance of the heavy gold coin of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 285-337) clearly speaks of a European continent that was already in the Iron Age. closely linked by trade and war.
Researchers believe that the basis of the viking age society and a united Danish kingdom is in this period.
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