Homeowner digging patio unearths 'Viking safe' buried for 1000 years

A homeowner preparing for a garden makeover has unearthed a massive hoard of silver that is more than 1000 years old.

They had been removing stubborn grass, stones and gravel for a new tiled terrace in their yard in Rebild, Denmark, when they hit something that made a strange sound.

“It should have just been a few hours of hard gardening work… but it turned out to be the biggest surprise of my life,” the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

“At first I thought it was old iron or fence wire and some potsherds, but when I started digging with my hands, I was suddenly able to fish one metal object after another out of the ground.”

Around 320 objects – including jewellery and silver bars – were found still in the original clay vessel. The rest were found in the soil around the site.

The discovery is almost three times larger than the largest silver hoard from the Viking Age in Denmark to date, the so-called Terslevskat.

It is estimated the silver treasure was placed in a clay vessel sometime in the 10th century and consists of around 700 objects and fragments. 

In addition to many silver bars, it also contains bracelets, 47 whole coins and fragments, a small Thor’s hammer, and various cut silver objects.

Torben Sarauw, the cultural heritage manager and archaeologist at the Museums of North Jutland, described the discovery as a unique find.

“This is a find of great importance for our understanding of the Viking Age in Denmark. Not just because of its size, but also because the treasure so clearly shows how silver functioned as wealth and a means of payment in the Viking Age,” Sarauw said.  

“It’s like finding a safe from the Viking Age.”

He said the treasure also included a silver bar engraved with runes.

The inscription can possibly be read as “hutu”, and it can be interpreted as a name, an ownership mark, or another form of significant identifier.

“When we analyse the weight of the silver objects, the treasure reveals information about the economic practices of the Viking Age,” Sarauw said. 

“The treasure does not only consist of beautiful objects. Most of them are part of a structured value system by weight.”

The unusually large number of silver bars and bracelets suggests that the silver was not just randomly put together, but was organised as a significant stock of values.

Sarauw said the coins reveal there were connections to the Islamic world in the east and England to the west.

The coins are also crucial for dating. The find contains two Anglo-Saxon silver pennies minted under King Edward the Elder, who reigned from 899 to 924. 

This is not the first discovery of its kind in the area. Another large silver treasure was found in the area in 1971, the so-called Rebildskat, which also dates from the 10th century. 

The find is considered Danish national treasure and has been submitted to Denmark’s National Museum for official assessment.