The Strandby Hoard is a Viking treasure most likely buried around 900.
The treasure is silver, consisting of a large amount of coins, hack silver, jewelry and jewelry pieces.
The treasure was found in Strandby on the 9th of September 2012 by searching with a metal detector. Before the actual excavation began in May 2013, the treasure consisted of over 265 parts.
A treasure of this size has never been found in Vendsyssel before, and in its time it represented a very large value, indicating that there existed a civilization with extensive trading in the area.
The fact that the treasure was hidden in this area is likely linked with the fact that in the Viking Age, Strandby was the place on the eastern coast with the northernmost natural harbors; Elling Å and Rugholm Å, both of which were navigable far into the mainland, which is reflected for example in the find of the Elling Å ship.
These natural harbors have been places where trading vessels could dock and seek shelter for bad weather in Kattegat and Skagerrak on their northbound trading routes.
In the Viking Age, Strandby was an isthmus with large wetlands on either side of the creeks, and thus the land was fertile and easily accessible from Kattegat as well as the Ålbæk Bay.
The treasure consists of a large amount of very well preserved coins from the Viking Age, originating from various places such as Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, England, Arabia and Denmark. A large amount of the coins were Danish, coined by Harald Bluetooth in Hedeby and other places of coin minting in the 10th century.
The treasure also contains large amounts of hack silver, used extensively as currency in the Viking Age, and pieces of silver jewelry.
The treasure’s size and composition suggests that there has been extensive trade in the area and that there existed a society of rich Vikings with a substantial economy. The size also suggests that the treasure might have belonged to one of Harald Bluetooth’s lords in the Viking Age.
It will be exciting to learn more about this in the future, when the historians start analyzing the find, and when further excavations might reveal signs of settlement.
According to museum staff and historians, the treasure is decisive evidence of the existing theories that there must have been large amounts of activity in this area in the Viking Age.
It will also be exciting to gain more knowledge about the individual coins and their origins, when the Royal Collection of Coins and Medals branch from the National Museum finish their analysis of the find and offer their conclusions.