A 1000 year-old king’s treasure of buried silver & pearls has been discovered by a young boy and his metal detector. The spectacular discovery is being hailed as the largest of its kind ever found by the Baltic Sea.
The German Press Agency (DPA) gives report of an amateur archaeologist and his 13-year-old student who discovered the treasure trove of buried silver; believed to having been buried by the 10th century King Harald Blåtann (King Bluetooth).
LARGEST EVER FOUND
Archaeologist Michael Schirren discussed the treasure story with DPA, saying “This treasure is the largest single discovery of King Blåtann coins ever found within the southern region of the Baltic Sea. It’s quite an important archaeological find.”
Archaeologist Detlef Jantzen also spoke with DPA, saying; “We have here the rare case of a discovery that appears to corroborate historical sources.”
TREASURE ISLAND
The treasure was first discovered this past January. A 13 yr German boy named Luca and his teacher René Schön were using metal detectors upon a field near the village of Schaprode on the German island of Ruegen within the Baltic Sea. While searching, Luca found a small bit of something hidden within the dirt and brought his teacher’s attention to it, thinking that perhaps it was of aluminum.
Upon close inspection, the two determined that Luca had unearthed a very old coin.
The 2 ‘would-be’ treasure hunters then contacted state archaeology and reported of their find.The state asked for secrecy to allow planning-time for a professional dig.
MEDIEVAL KINGDOMS
This past weekend, the state archaeological department (along with Luca & René)
excavated a 400 square meter (4,300 sq ft) area and found a stunning treasure trove
of braided-silver collars, pearls, brooches, a ‘Thor’ hammer, finger rings and around 600 ‘fractional’ coins from ancient Saxon, Ottoman, Danish and Byzantine kingdoms.
Of the coins, most date from the era of King Harald Blåtann, (reigned AD 958 to 986)
but the oldest coin, a Damascus Dirham, dates to year c. 714. Archaeologists believe that the treasure was buried in the late 980’s during the rein of King Harald ‘Bluetooth,’the Viking king who “won (consolidated) all of Denmark.”
GOLD TREASURE
Other stunning artifacts from King Harald Bluetooth have been found within the area. In the late 19th century, The ‘Hiddensee’ buried treasure of 10th century gold pendants & jewelry was discovered upon an island only a few kilometers away from Ruegen.
King Harald Blåtann was 1 of 3 sons born to King Gorm-the-Old (“Old” referencing the king being of the ‘old’ noble bloodlines; not of his age) and his wife Thyra Dannebod. King Harald was one of the last Viking kings of what is now Denmark, Germany, Sweden and parts of Norway. King Harald is credited with being the first Nordic king to turn away from the olden Norse gods and embrace Christianity.
Viking King Bluetooth’s lasting legacy is found in today’s Bluetooth smartphones.
Bluetooth technology is named after the ancient Norse king, who ‘gathered together’
fiefdoms and fashioned a cohesive whole (much as the Swedish company’s Bluetooth product ‘gathers together’ various components of information into one gadget) and the Bluetooth logo is comprised of the ancient, Nordic runes of King Harald’s initials: HB.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
