Swedish archaeologists have discovered 170 silver coins dating to the 12th century. They were found in a grave on the island of Visingsö at Lake Vättern in the central part of the country.
Archaeologists from the Jönköping County Museum made the discovery while monitoring excavations at a church in the village of Brahekyrkan. The church was having geothermal heating pipes being installed. “On the very first day, my colleague Kristina Jansson and I found two skeletons in the shaft where the wires were to be laid, explains Anna Ödéen, project manager and archaeologist. “We cleaned out the bones from the buried to get an idea of what the graves looked like. All of a sudden three silver coins appeared! We soon realized that many more were lying close to the buried person’s left foot.”
A total of 170 so-called silver bracteates were found in the grave. The skeletal remains appear to have belonged to a man aged 20–25. The coins are estimated to be from around 1150 to 1180. The find is very special, partly because there are few similar finds from the time period, partly because some of the coins are completely unknown from before.
It is rare that finds are made in Christian graves, that custom belongs to earlier times and that makes the Visingsö find special. Why this man in his 20s brought all these coins to the grave is not yet known. The county museum’s archaeologists hope for more clues when they work further with the find.
“It is a completely sensational find that will change the early medieval coin history in Götaland and shed light on a period that is largely completely unknown,” says Eeva Jonsson at the Royal Coin Cabinet.
The coins were displayed for a few days at the Jönköping County Museum but are now undergoing conservation work.
Top Image: Photo by Åsa Rosén / Jönköping County Museum
Swedish archaeologists have discovered 170 silver coins dating to the 12th century. They were found in a grave on the island of Visingsö at Lake Vättern in the central part of the country.
Archaeologists from the Jönköping County Museum made the discovery while monitoring excavations at a church in the village of Brahekyrkan. The church was having geothermal heating pipes being installed. “On the very first day, my colleague Kristina Jansson and I found two skeletons in the shaft where the wires were to be laid, explains Anna Ödéen, project manager and archaeologist. “We cleaned out the bones from the buried to get an idea of what the graves looked like. All of a sudden three silver coins appeared! We soon realized that many more were lying close to the buried person’s left foot.”
A total of 170 so-called silver bracteates were found in the grave. The skeletal remains appear to have belonged to a man aged 20–25. The coins are estimated to be from around 1150 to 1180. The find is very special, partly because there are few similar finds from the time period, partly because some of the coins are completely unknown from before.
It is rare that finds are made in Christian graves, that custom belongs to earlier times and that makes the Visingsö find special. Why this man in his 20s brought all these coins to the grave is not yet known. The county museum’s archaeologists hope for more clues when they work further with the find.
“It is a completely sensational find that will change the early medieval coin history in Götaland and shed light on a period that is largely completely unknown,” says Eeva Jonsson at the Royal Coin Cabinet.
The coins were displayed for a few days at the Jönköping County Museum but are now undergoing conservation work.
Top Image: Photo by Åsa Rosén / Jönköping County Museum
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