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European civilization has an incredibly rich history stretching back thousands of years that’s defined by a number of different cultures. It’s also filled with reminders of those bygone peoples, including a sizable stash of Viking silver that one man recently dug up in his backyard in Denmark.
There are obviously plenty of places outside of Europe that boast reminders of people who lived hundreds and even thousands of years ago. However, the continent is an archeological goldmine filled with visible ancient wonders like the ones that drive millions of people to visit Rome and Athens each year.
That first city was also built on the ruins that are routinely stumbled upon during construction projects, but it’s far from the only place where there’s an untold amount of history and treasure hiding underneath the ground.
The Vikings, the name given to the Scandinavian people who primarily operated from the start the 800s to the mid-1000s, left plenty of evidence of their presence behind while making their way around Europe (and beyond) during their heyday.
That includes a cache that was apparently abandoned in Denmark, as one guy came across an unexpected find while doing some work in his backyard.
A man in Denmark found around 700 pieces of silver that can be traced back to the Vikings while digging up his backyard
According to CNN, an unnamed resident of Rebild, a municipality in northern Denmark, was recently clearing grass and stone from his backyard while preparing for the construction of a terrace before stumbling upon some buried treasure lurking beneath the dirt, saying:
“After half an hour of digging, my grip hit something that made a strange sound.
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.
After a short period of careful work, I realized that it was jewelry, coins and silver bars.”
He subsequently contacted officials at the North Jutland Museums, who conducted an assessment of a stash of approximately 700 individual pieces of silver, including 47 coins, “many silver bars,” and one piece that was fashioned into the shape of Thor’s hammer.
As the outlet notes, silver was a popular form of currency among the Vikings, and archeologists estimated the items were buried at some point in the 10th century based on the age of a clay pot that contained a little less than half of the total.
All of the pieces collectively weighed 41 pounds, which smashes the country’s record previously held by the 14-pound hoard that was discovered by some kids who were digging in the village of Terslev in 1911.
Based on the current value of silver, the discovery is worth close to $40,000 based solely on how much of the precious metal was recovered, although that number is likely higher given the historical significance; Denmark’s National Museum is currently conducting an assessment, and there are tentative plans to put the find on display at the Fyrkat Viking Museum.