For an archaeologist, the words "Viking", "Coins" and "Sweden" are likely to bring to mind Sweden’s island province of Gotland, a known Viking hub or trading center where several hundred silver coin hoards have been discovered over the years. (See map of Gotland).
In just a bit of an unusual twist, a treasure trove of Viking silver coins have been found on Sweden itself. The Local, a Sweden news site, reports 450 silver coins were uncovered by archaeologists from the Swedish National Heritage Board—an agency of the Swedish government responsible for preserving Sweden’s heritage and historic treasures.
Typical Viking hoards contain coins from multiple countries, testifying to their traveling exploits. This instance was no different with some coins coming from Baghdad and Damascus and from a period somewhere between 500 and 840 AD.
The Local reports that the silver coins were found by a grave which may be 1000 years older than the coins. They were located near Sweden’s Arlanda airport. (See Arlanda, Sweden map).
For the very short The Local article, read Viking treasure found near Arlanda.
