Viking Age hoard found in Finland – largest ever

A metal detectorist in the tiny village of Sysmä has discovered what is believed to be the largest Viking Age coin hoard ever found in Finland. The detectorist, Kalle Lappinen, unearthed the artifacts during a routine exploration close to a local church.

Silver treasure

According to a report published by Lahti Museums, Kalle Lappinen discovered the hoard on September 3 of this year near the main church in the village of Sysmä. He immediately contacted the local authorities, and an archeology team inspected the site the very next day.

Both Lappinen and the lead archeologist, Esko Tikkala, were convinced they were concerned with something significant.

The excavation revealed two birch-bark containers around 45 centimeters below the ground and around 12 meters apart. Inside were thousands of silver coins, alongside a fragment of silver, a silver bracelet, a silver clasp and a silver bead.

A record haul

The coins have been provisionally dated to around 1000 and 1050 CE, in the middle of the Viking Age. Though Finland is not part of Scandinavia, it had strong connections with the Viking world across the Baltic Sea.

The previous record find of silver in Finland from this historical period came in 1895, at Nousiainen. That particular hoard contained around 1,700 coins and weighed approximately 2.2 kilograms. The Sysmä Hoard, on the other hand, weighs 4.5 kilograms and is believed to have several thousand coins.

The team has already begun work on cleaning and separating the coins. However, it will be some time before we have complete details on the age, origin and quantity of coins in the collection.

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