A collection of 32 iron bars has been found in the basement of a home in Valdres, Norway, dating back to the Viking or early Middle Ages. Grete Margot Sørum came across the approximately 1,000-year-old treasure while cleaning out the basement of her parents’ home.
The collection contains a number of small identical iron rods each weighing 50 grams (1.7 ounces), the uniformity of which suggests they were once used as a form of currency. Resembling small spatulas, the inclusion of a hole in one end has led experts to believe they were intended to be strung together in a bunch.
They were held in a bunch to be easily used as currency while traveling. Image courtesy of Mildri Een Eide
Sørum’s father found the collection while digging a well, and the iron has been sitting in their basement since the 1980s. The area the pieces were retrieved from sits just above the Bergen royal road which runs between Oslo and Bergen.
Experts believe the cache was buried there with the intention of someone coming back to retrieve the items. “We call it a cache find because it is clear that someone has [buried it] to hide it,” Archaeologist and associate professor Kjetil Loftsgarden told NRK News.
Loftsgarden says it is rare to come across something like this these days as most caches are lost or damaged during house and road construction.
The area of Valdres was a large production site for iron during the Viking and Middle Ages. Iron was taken from the valleys and mountains in southern Norway and Trøndelag to be used in the production of tools, weapons, and nails. While most iron production took place between 900 and 1200 CE, there’s evidence of iron production in Valdres dating back to 200 CE.
After Sørum rediscovered the artifacts, she sent them to the Valdres Folkemuseum in Fagerenes. From there, the museum sent them to the Cultural Heritage Section in the county municipality to have the findings registered.
Anne Engesveen, the unit leader for archeology at the Cultural Heritage Section said of the collection, “old finds that are handed in to the archaeologists provide new knowledge about the history of the Inland, so a big thank you to Grete Margot Sørum.”
The collection has since been sent to the Kulturhistorisk Museum in Oslo to be cataloged and stored. Sørum said of her father’s find: “we in the family think this is exciting and very beautiful.”
Source Link: Rare 1,000-Year-Old Viking Iron Hoard Discovered In Residential Basement