(ORDO NEWS) — A metal detector unearthed a tiny silver coin bearing the name of a famous Viking king that was lost almost a thousand years ago at a dig in Hungary.
It looks very worn, but on the one hand you can still make out the twikvetr, an important pagan religious symbol for the northern peoples, often associated with the god Thor or the sun. It was later rethought as a triad representing the already Christian Holy Trinity.
The coin dates back to the period 1046-1066, as the name of the Norwegian king Harald Sigurdsson III, also known as Harald III the Severe or Strict (Gardrad), is engraved on it. He died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge while trying to win the English throne.
The coin is clearly of Scandinavian origin, but was found near the Hungarian village of Vardomb. It remains a mystery how it could have ended up in this place: it may have arrived along with the traveling court of the medieval Hungarian king.
This early Norwegian coin, called the penning, in those days it was not considered particularly valuable, although it was made of silver – in today’s money it would cost about $ 20. It would be enough to feed one family during the day.
The coin was found with a metal detector at the archaeological site by Zoltan Chikos earlier this year, after which he handed it over to the archaeologist András Nemeth, who works at the Mor Wosinski Museum in the nearby town of Szekszárd.
On the territory of the village of Wardomb are the remains of the medieval settlement of Kestoltz, one of the most important trading cities in the region at that time. Archaeologists have already made hundreds of finds there, including jewelry for clothes and coins.
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