"Archaeologists excavating Norway's largest-ever medieval coin hoard have uncovered hundreds more coins, bringing the total to 4,772 so far. Researchers now believe the remarkable Viking Age find may reveal how iron from inland Norway connected the region to vast trade networks stretching across medieval Europe. The spectacular coin hoard, known as the Mørstad Hoard, was discovered near Rena in Østerdalen earlier this spring by metal detectorists Vegard Sørlie and Rune Sætre. Since then, archaeologists from Innlandet County Authority and the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo have been carefully excavating the site."
"The latest fieldwork, completed on May 13th, dramatically increased the size of the find. Archaeologists now expect the final number of coins to exceed 5,000 when a new excavation is carried out later this year. With its 4,772 coins, the Mørstad Hoard is larger than the next four biggest Viking Age coin hoards discovered in Norway combined. Large Viking Age coin hoards are extremely rare in Norway, and the last time a major hoard was found in the country was in Trondheim in 1950."
""Over 95 per cent of the coins in this hoard come from kingdoms in what is now England and Germany. These were the most widespread currencies in international trade at the time, and thus link Østerdalen to an international trade network", explained Professor Svein Gullbekk of the Museum of Cultural History."
""This may be the key to Østerdalen's international trade network. We have long known that there was extensive iron production and e""
Archaeologists excavating Norway’s largest-ever medieval coin hoard have uncovered hundreds more coins, bringing the total to 4,772 so far. The Mørstad Hoard was found near Rena in Østerdalen earlier this spring by metal detectorists, and archaeologists from Innlandet County Authority and the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo have been excavating the site. Fieldwork completed on May 13 increased the hoard’s size, and researchers expect the final total to exceed 5,000 later this year. The hoard is larger than the next four biggest Viking Age coin hoards in Norway combined. Over 95% of the coins come from kingdoms in what is now England and Germany, indicating Østerdalen’s connection to international trade networks. Researchers suspect iron production explains the concentration of wealth.
Read at Medievalists.net
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