Search Stories by:

and/or

News

Objects from before 1537 and coins dated to before 1650 are considered Norweigan state property and must be reported to authorities when discovered.

Find of the century: Metal detectorist discovers hidden treasure in Norway

Posted September 08, 2023 | By Samuel Ord

A Norwegian man has unearthed rare sixth-century gold jewellery in a discovery archaeologists have hailed as Norway’s ‘gold find of the century’.

The discovery included three gold rings, nine gold medallions, and gold pearls believed to once form an extravagant necklace. The jewellery has been dated to AD500.

Erlend Bore, 51, was out walking on his doctor's advice when he made the discovery in farmland.

Håkon Reiersen, associate professor at the University of Stavanger

"Given the location of the discovery and what we know from other similar finds, this is probably a matter of either hidden valuables or an offering to the gods during dramatic times."

Håkon Reiersen, University of Stavanger’s Museum of Archaeology

“At first, I thought it was chocolate coins or Captain Sabertooth coins. It was totally unreal,” he said.

Archaeologists say the discovery is unique because of the design of the medallions, showcasing a type of horse from Norse mythology. In August, the jewellery was unearthed on the southern island of Rennesøy, near Stavanger.

Håkon Reiersen, an associate professor at the University of Stavanger’s Museum of Archaeology, said the gold pendants dated from the so-called migration period in Norway.

“Given the location of the discovery and what we know from other similar finds, this is probably a matter of either hidden valuables or an offering to the gods during dramatic times,” he told The Guardian.

“In Norway, no similar discovery has been made since the 19th century, and it is also a very unusual discovery in a Scandinavian context”.

Objects from before 1537 and coins dated before 1650 are considered Norweigan state property and must be reported to authorities when discovered.