Student discovers rare Viking-era treasures using metal detector

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A young archaeology student in the Scandinavian country has discovered seven “amazing” silver artifacts of significance to Viking rule in centuries past, The Associated Press reported.

Denmark’s Moesgaard Museum announced Monday that 22-year-old researcher Gustav Brunsgaard found seven silver arm rings – an important material for Viking coinage around 800 AD – in the city of Aarhus earlier this year.

The foundation described three of them, found in a Viking stronghold at the time, as “rare.”

Brunsgaard discovered them using a metal detector.

These bands, which collectively weigh more than a pound, have a unique history and global connections.

Silversmithing originated with the Viking settlement of modern-day Russia and Ukraine, and its style spread and was copied throughout northern Europe.

Another trio of bands, called “rare” for their lack of ornamentation in design, are from Scandinavia and England.

Other pieces are common in southern Scandinavia and possibly Denmark. All of the artifacts demonstrate “the financial ability of their owner,” according to the museum.

This discovery also helps put the nation on the Viking map.

“This discovery confirms that Aarhus was a central centre in the Viking world,” said museum historian Casper H. Andersen.

Experts who trace the armbands back to around 800 AD suggest that these were the early days of the Viking Empire, which lasted until around 1066 – the same year William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy.