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An assemblage of more than 3,000 silver coins, the largest Viking-era coin hoard ever found in Norway, has been discovered in Østerdalen. Large coin hoards are extremely rare in Norway and one of this size is without parallel on the archaeological record. The second largest, found in the 1830s, contained 1,849 coins. The third largest and the last to be found before this one in 1950 and contained just 964 coins.
The first 19 coins were found by metal detectorists Rune Sætre and Vegard Sørlie in a field near Rena on April 10th. The coins were scattered in the plough layer of extensively cultivated land, likely because the original container of the single deposit was destroyed by agricultural activity.
Dubbed the Mørstad hoard after the farm where the coins were found, they range in date from 980s to the 1040s, a turbulent period in Norway’s history when Viking warriors brought treasure home from their raids abroad.
So far most of them are from England and Germany, with a smaller number of Danish and Norwegian coins in the mix. There are coins minted by Cnut the Great, at various times king of England, Denmark and Norway, Æthelred the Unready of England, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III and Harald Hardrada of Norway.
Foreign coins Norway’s main currency until the reign of Hardrada who was the first king to establish a national mint in the country after his return from a visit to Byzantium in 1045. Based on the dates of the coins, the hoard was deposited around 1047, the very beginning of this important transition, and there are pieces of hacksilver (fragments of brooches, ingots, other silver objects that were cut off and used as currency based on their weight).
Excavations are ongoing and plenty of coins are still being found. For a while coins were being unearthed at a rate of 200 a day. That seems to be slowing now, but yesterday the count was 150, so who knows what the final number will be.
An excavation in advance of new construction in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, has uncovered a cache of almost 500 medieval cannonballs. A large arsenal of medieval artillery assembled in a single location is an exceptionally rare find.
The site behind the historic Stadshalle (city hall) is slated to become the town’s new administrative center with the foundation stone to be laid at the end of the year. The Stadshalle has been there since the 13th century and test pits found evidence of archaeological material. Since February, archaeologists have been thoroughly excavating the grounds. They uncovered the remains of structures — walls and floors — from the Middle Ages, but the exact function and dates of the structures have not yet been determined.
Given the age of the Stadshalle, medieval remains were expected finds, but archaeologists were astonished to discover dozens of cannonballs of varying size stored together less than three feet below street level. Stratigraphy dates the cannonballs to between approximately 1350 and 1600. These types of stone balls were fired from cannons, but also used as thrown projectiles in catapults and trebuchets. They are all carefully finished and rounded, however, which suggests they were intended to fit smoothly in the barrels of firearms.
The balls were piled; they didn’t land there randomly in battle. This was an artillery depot strategically located behind City Hall near the medieval southern city walls (now gone). One possible hint is a map from 1641 which depicts a cannon next to that wall close to the find site. The cannonballs may have therefore been an arsenal maintained by the city for defense.
The archaeological fieldwork phase will be completed at the end of this week. This will be followed by an extensive research and reporting phase in which all finds will be further analyzed. Only then will it be possible to draw more detailed conclusions regarding the precise significance of the discovered structures and the cannonball depot.
