A treasure trove of Viking coins and jewelry that is believed to have originated in Ireland or Scotland was found near a Viking fortress in Denmark in April 2023.
The rare collection was discovered in two different locations in a cornfield near the Danish town of Hobro by a young girl with a metal detector last fall.
The silver coins discovered at the site are believed to date back to the 980s and are noteworthy because they have cross inscriptions, the North Jutland Museum told AFP News.
The museum, which will put the artifacts on display, said the coins are of Danish, German, and Arab origin, while the jewelry discovered at the site originated in either Scotland or Ireland.
The coins date back to the same period of King Harald Bluetooth, who built the nearby fort known as Fyrkat. Archaeologists said the discovery would offer more insight into the history of the Vikings.
Archaeologists will resume digging in the area after the harvest in the fall of this year and hope to find the burial sites and homes of the owners of the recently discovered treasure trove.
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The young girl who made the discovery is due to receive financial compensation for finding the rare collection.
It is perhaps unsurprising that artifacts of Irish origin ended up buried near a Danish Viking fortress.
Norse Vikings first arrived in Ireland between 795AD and 840AD, but the first Danish Vikings arrived on Irish shores around 849AD and fought their Norse counterparts. Both Norse and Danish Vikings often stole Irish treasures and brought them back to their native lands.
In 2007, then-Danish Culture Minister Brian Mikkelson apologized for the actions of the hordes of Danish Vikings who invaded and pillaged Ireland 1,200 years ago.
"We are not proud of the damages to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings," Mikkelson said in Dublin in 2007.
The first Vikings to arrive in Ireland often targeted wealthy monasteries on Irish islands such as Rathlin Island off County Antrim and Inishmurray off County Sligo. They later established fortified settlements in Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford.
* Originally published in April 2023, updated in Sept 2023.
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