Amateur archaeologist uncovers “one of the greatest gold treasures in Danish history”

A metal detectorist in Denmark has uncovered a Viking find that a local museum described as “one of the greatest gold treasures in Danish history.”

The lucky man, Ole Ginnerup Schytz, discovered a total of 22 gold objects with 6th-century symbols close to Jelling in southwestern Denmark. The finds have symbols that could reveal new information about pre-Viking Danish people.

“Some of the objects have runic motifs and inscriptions, which may refer to the rulers of the time, but also recall Norse mythology,” director of research at the Vejle museums in western Denmark, Mads Ravn, told AFP.

The find, which weighs around 1 kilogram, will be hosted at the Vejle museums.

“It is the symbols on the items that make them unique, more than the quantity found,” Ravn added. 

“The find consists of a lot of gold items, including a medallion the size of a saucer,” he noted.

Buried as an offering to the gods

Initial assessments state that the treasure could have been buried as an offering to the gods at a time of great insecurity – perhaps when the climate in northern Europe turned colder after a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 536, sending ash clouds into the sky.

“They have many symbols, some of which have not been seen before, which will enable us to enlarge our knowledge of the people of this period,” Ravn stated.

Experts say that Jelling, where the treasure was discovered, became a cradle for kings of the Viking Age, according to The Viking Herald.

The amazing find will be on display at the museum in Vejle from February 2022.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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