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Many masses daydream of discover buried hoarded wealth , but very few people actually do . For one human in primal Norway that pipe dream became a reality just before Christmas last year , when he accept his metal detector for a stroll in a field near his home and unearthed a hoard of eloquent fragments from the Viking Age .
At first , Pawel Bednarski was n’t trusted of the value of the fragments he ’d found buried under just a couple of inch of soil . There were a pair of ring , what looked like chop - up Arabic coin and fragment of a silver bracelet , among other pieces . But when he make out to local historiographer and archeologist , the truth became absolved : This was a substantial find .
In the ninth century A.D., this treasure might have bought half a cow.
" It ’s been many year since such a large Viking treasure was base in Norway,“Birgit Maixner , an archeologist at Norway ’s University of Science and Technology ( NTNU ) in Trondheim , say in astatement .
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The silver fragments date back around 1,100 years to the 8th and ninth centuries — during the Viking Age , which endure for about 200 yr between the ninth and 11th centuries . The atomisation of the objects suggest that these pieces were not just personal belongings but were also used as money . Vikings operated under a so - called bullion economy rather than a bartering saving , which means that rather than trade in good - for - good , such as a sheep for a cow , they traded objet d’art of cherished metals at set weight for goods . Minted coins were not commonly used in Norway until the former 9th century .
This ring type is often found in treasure finds, but not commonly in Viking Age burials. So it’s likely that these rings were used as a type of payment, instead of jewelry.
The weight system " was in use in the changeover between the barter economy and the coin economy , " Maixner tell .
The 46 silver fragments count 1.5 ounces ( 42 grams ) , or about the weight of a golf formal . Maixner said that based on what we now understand of the Vikings ' value organisation , the silver gray was worth a little more than half a cow — quite valuable for a time when owning five cows was about ordinary for a medium - size of it farm .
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While the silver fragments may have once been used by Vikings , Maixner is n’t sure how the treasures terminate up in Norway . The Arabic coins , which was the main germ of silver grey in Scandinavia during the Viking Age , are honest-to-goodness than what is usually found in Norway . Archaeologistsusually find Arabic coin from the 9th and tenth century in Norse treasure , but these coins are from the eighth century . And the silver bracelet looks more like jewelry that ’s typically come up in Denmark .
Bowl scales such as this one helped people during the Viking Age weigh precious metals for their weight-based economy. These scales were unearthed in a burial mound at Bjørkhaug in Steinkjer, Norway.
" The fact that this mortal had access to an entire broad banded bracelet , which was primarily a Danish item , might suggest that the owner had been to Denmark before move around to this area in mid - Norway , " Maixner said .
As for why or how the hoarded wealth ended up in the field of force , no one can say , Maixner say . Perhaps the owner was hive up it to retrieve subsequently , or was depart it as an offering to the gods .
