Viking-era silver treasures found on farm in Sweden and restored. See them shine
Sifting through the stony soil of southern Sweden, archaeologists uncovered dozens of Viking-era structures and hundreds of artifacts. One remarkable find stood out from all the rest: a collection of ancient silver treasures.
A team of archaeologists excavated a massive Viking Age farm and adjacent burial ground in Täby from 2020 to 2021. The site had been occupied for roughly 500 years — from 500 to 1050 A.D. — and still had many traces of its ancient inhabitants, Arkeologerna said in a May 30 news release.
When the dig finished, archaeologists had found 34 ruined buildings, about 15 ritual deposits, five graves and over 1,450 artifacts. The finds took them years to document, analyze, preserve and clean. The effort resulted in two detailed reports published in early May
John Hamilton, a project manager with Arkeologerna, described the Täby site as incredibly exciting because of its variety — and its unique silver treasures.
The excavation at Täby uncovered a buried pot filled with silver arm rings, necklaces, beads, coin pendants, an amulet, a ring and some fabric, archaeologists said in a report. The Viking-era collection was astonishing for its size, variety and quality of preservation.
The treasure might have been buried in honor of a high-ranking individual and involved a long, grand ceremony, Hamilton said in the release. Reconstructions show how the collection was originally buried.
Several of the ancient silver items had braided or twisted designs and ended in a diamond-shaped piece, photos show.
Archaeologists identified the 12 coin pendants as a mixture of European and Islamic coins all dating between 904 and 997 A.D. Photos show two of these items, which have added hooks to allow them to be worn as pendants.
Arkeologerna described the silver treasures as unusual and astonishing.
Other finds from Täby included pottery, bones and seeds. Archaeologists analyzed the DNA of several people buried at the site and confirmed several were related.
Täby is a town roughly 10 miles north from Stockholm.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Arkeologerna, part of Sweden's National Historical Museums (SHM).
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