Bluetooth Treasure: Metal Detector Dings on Silver of the Danish King in Germany

Ancient Origins

Over one thousand years ago, Danish King Harald Bluetooth had to flee his homeland. He would have taken whatever treasured possessions he could as he sought safety in distant lands. Fast forward to January 2018, when a man and a boy armed with metal detectors decided to take a chance at treasure hunting on an eastern German island in the Baltic Sea. What they found was so significant the location of their discovery was kept under wraps.

 Amateur archaeologist René Schön and his 13 year old student Luca Malaschnitschenko are the discoverers of 600 coins - 100 minted during Bluetooth’s reign and 500 other chipped pieces which range from a 714 Damascus dirham to a 983 penny.

 DW reports the two treasure hunters also found jewelry - such as braided necklaces, rings, brooches, and pearls - as well as a Thor’s hammer (an amulet for protection and power, linked to the famous Norse god, Thor ).

Part of the silver Bluetooth treasure found in Germany. ( YouTube Screenshot )

And it all began with a metal detector on the island of Rügen dinging on what the metal detectorists first thought was a “worthless piece of aluminum”, according to The Guardian . After cleaning the artifact up, it was found to actually be a piece of silver…and more was on the way.

The Guardian reports the treasure trove “may have belonged to the Danish king Harald Bluetooth.” Harald Bluetooth was the 10th century king who unified Denmark and promoted Christianity to his subjects. Today, Harald Blåtand (‘Bluetooth’) is a household name thanks to the wireless technology standard which bears a combination of the runes of his initials.

Harald's initials in runes and his Bluetooth nickname. ( haraldgormssonbluetooth)

The location of the Bluetooth treasure was found in January, but it was kept secret until the professionals, joined by Schön and Malaschnitschenko, were able to excavate land 400 sq. meters (4,300 sq. ft) around the site of the original discovery. It was probably hard for the discoverers to keep the secret to themselves, “This was the (biggest) discovery of my life,”

The Guardian reports Schön told the German news agency DPA. The Guardian reports lead archaeologist on the dig, Michael Schirren also told DPA “This trove is the biggest single discovery of Bluetooth coins in the southern Baltic Sea region and is therefore of great significance.”

One of the coins found at the site. ( YouTube Screenshot )

But DW says the discovery is not the first example of a Bluetooth artifact found in the region. In the 1870s, someone unearthed gold jewelry also linked to the Danish king on the island of Hiddensee, next to Rügen.

A relief showing Harald Bluetooth being baptized by Poppo the monk. ( CC BY 3.0 )

Archaeologist Detlef Jantzen suggests the artifacts provide physical evidence for Bluetooth’s flight to Pomerania in the late 980s, stating “We have here the rare case of a discovery that appears to corroborate historical sources.”

Top Image: A selection of silver jewelry from the Bluetooth treasure. Source: YouTube Screenshot

By Alicia McDermott

The Impressive Gaulcross Hoard: 100 Roman-Era Silver Pieces Unearthed in Scotland

Ancient Origins

Archaeologists discovered a hoard of 100 silver items, including coins and jewelry, which come from the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The treasure belongs to the period of the Roman Empire’s domination in Scotland, or perhaps later.

 Almost 200 years ago, a team of Scottish laborers cleared a rocky field with dynamite. They discovered three magnificent silver artifacts : a chain, a spiral bangle, and a hand pin. However, they didn't search any deeper to check if there were any more treasures. They turned the field into a farmland and excavations were forgotten.
Now, archaeologists have returned to the site and discovered a hoard (a group of valuable objects that is sometimes purposely buried underground) of 100 silver items. According to Live Science , the treasure is called the Gaulcross hoard. The artifacts belonged to the Pict people who lived in Scotland before, during, and after the Roman era.

Silver plaque from the Norrie's Law hoard (7th-century Pictish silver hoard), Fife, with double disc and Z-rod symbol. ( CC BY SA 3.0 )

The artifacts were found by a team led by Gordon Noble, head of archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. When they started work in the field, they didn't think to search for more artifacts, but were trying to learn more about the context of the discovery made nearly two centuries ago. The researchers claim that the field also contained two man-made stone circles - one dating to the Neolithic period and the other the Bronze Age (1670 – 1500 BC).
The three previously discovered pieces were given to Banff Museum in Aberdeenshire, and are now on loan and display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The surviving objects from the nineteenth-century Gaulcross hoard find. ( National Museums Scotland )

In 2013, two groups of researchers studied the field in northeastern Scotland with the help of metal detectors. It was the first time when researchers explored the field after such a long time. During the second day of work, they uncovered three Late-Roman-era silver "siliquae," or coins, that dated to the 4th or 5th century AD.
They also found a part of a silver bracelet, silver strap-end, and several pieces of folded hacksilver (pieces of cut or bent silver). They examined the field over the next 18 months, and as a result, they unearthed 100 pieces of silver all together.

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The silver was not mined in Scotland during the Roman period, and instead came from somewhere else in the Roman world. During the '' Late Roman period, silver was recycled and recast into high-status objects that underpinned the development of elite society in the post-Roman period''. The researchers believe that some of these silver pieces, such as the chunks of silver called ingots, may have served as currency, much as a gold bar did in more modern times.
The recent discoveries help shed light on the date of the Gaulcross hoard. It seems that some of the objects were connected with the elites. The silver hand pins and bracelets are very rare finds, so the researchers concluded that the objects would have belonged to some of the most powerful members of the post-Roman society.

Some of the finds from Gaulcross: A) the lunate/crescent-shaped pendant with two double-loops; B) silver hemispheres; C) a small, zoomorphic penannular brooch; D) one of the bracelet fragments with a Late Roman siliquae pinched inside ( National Museums Scotland )

Another important hoard has previously been uncovered in Scotland. Actually, on October 13, 2014, April Holloway of Ancient Origins reported on the discovery of one of the most significant Viking hoards found there to date. She wrote:

''An amateur treasure hunter equipped with a metal detector has unearthed a massive hoard of Viking artifacts in Dumfries and Galloway, in what has been described as one of the most significant archaeological finds in Scottish history. According to the  Herald Scotland  , more than 100 Viking relics were found, including silver ingots, armbands, brooches, and gold objects.”

• Treasure hunter uncovers one of the most significant Viking hoards ever found in Scotland
• Treasures Found Within Very Valuable Viking Hoard Finally Revealed

The findings also included “an early Christian cross from the 9th or 10 century AD made from solid silver, described as having unique and unusual decorations. There was also a rare Carolingian vessel, believed to be the largest Carolingian pot ever discovered.”

Detail of the Carolingian vessel of the famous Viking hoard. ( Historic Environment Scotland )

Holloway wrote that the Vikings “conducted numerous raids on Carolingian lands between 8th and 10th century AD” and explained that in a “few records, the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in Scotland on the island of Iona in 794.”
The Vikings attacks led to the downfall of the Picts. As Holloway reported:

“In 839, a large Norse fleet invaded via the River Tay and River Earn, both of which were highly navigable, and reached into the heart of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu. They defeated the king of the Picts, and the king of the Scots of Dál Riata, along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership.''

The Aberlemno Serpent Stone, Class I Pictish stone with Pictish symbols, showing (top to bottom) the serpent, the double disc and Z-rod and the mirror and comb. (Catfish Jim and the soapdish/ CC BY SA 3.0 )

Top Image: The Gaulcross silver hoard, including a silver ingot, Hacksilber and folded bracelets. Source: National Museums Scotland
By Natalia Klimzcak 

Athenian Wealth: Millions of Silver Coins Stored in Parthenon Attic

Live Science

New research indicates millions of silver coins, the reserves of ancient Athens, were once kept in the attic of the Parthenon (shown here as it appears today).
Millions of silver coins may have been stored in the attic of the Parthenon,one of the most famous structures from the ancient world, a research team says.
The attic of the Parthenon is now destroyed and the coins would have been spent in ancient times. The researchers made the discovery by reconstructing the size of the attic, analyzing ancient records to extrapolate how large the reserves may have been and re-examining archaeological work carried out decades ago.  
Their evidence suggests that millions of coins made up the cash reserves of the city-state of Athens and much of this hoard was stored in the attic of the Parthenon. During the fifth century B.C., when the Parthenon was built, Athens was a wealthy city-state whose people erected fantastic buildings and fought a series of devastating wars against their rival Sparta. This vast reserve of coins would have helped fund those endeavors. [In Photos: Amazing Ruins of the Ancient World]

While the Parthenon's attic is now destroyed, researchers estimate its floor would have spanned an area more than three times that of a tennis court, with dimensions of 62 feet wide by 164 feet long (19 by 50 meters) and about 10 feet (3 m) high at the center. The coin reserves were likely placed there around 434 B.C., when the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.
Incredible riches

Millions of silver tetradrachms (like the example shown here at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon) may have been kept in the attic of the Parthenon.
Credit: Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC Attribution 2.5 Generic

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In the fifth century B.C., Athens was one of the richest and most powerful city-states in Greece. Boasting a large navy, it exacted tribute from other Greek cities in exchange for military protection. Ancient writers say the Athenians kept vast coin reserves on the Acropolis, but don't say exactly where.
For instance, one decree dated to around 433 B.C. refers to "3,000 talents" being transferred to the Acropolis for safekeeping, a colossal sum of money, researchers say. The highest-denomination coin minted in Athens at the time was a silver tetradrachm, and it took 1,500 tetradrachms to make one talent, the researchers noted. This means the "3,000 talents" mentioned in the decree would be worth 4.5 million tetradrachms. Such a huge number of coins would have weighed about 78 metric tons, or nearly 172,000 lbs., researchers say. To put that in perspective, that's heavier than the M1 Abrams battle tank used today by American soldiers.
Remarkably, ancient writers said the Athenian reserves could, at times, reach up to 10,000 talents (potentially 260 metric tons).
Researchers caution that Athens may have minted some of its coins in gold (which was worth about 14 times more than silver). If that were the case, the number of coins (and the overall weight of the reserves) would be somewhat less, since it takes fewer gold coins to form one talent.
"Gold coinage was always minimal in Athens, in part because Athens mined silver locally," study researcher Spencer Pope, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, told Live Science in an email. As such, the ancient writer Aeschylus called Athens and its nearby area a "fountain of silver," Pope added.
The ultimate money stash
Ancient records mention nothing about where on the Acropolis the coins were stored, nor do they reveal the purpose of the Parthenon's attic. "The sources are silent on the use of this space," said Pope at a presentation recently in Toronto during the annual meeting of the Classical Association of Canada.
However, there are several reasons why researchers believe the attic was used to store most of Athens' immense coin wealth. [Photos: Mysterious Tomb from Ancient Greece]
While the attic is now virtually destroyed, the remains of a staircase that would've led up to the attic still survive. This staircase appears to have had a utilitarian rather than a ceremonial use, suggesting it could have been used to bring coins to and from the attic.
Additionally, the sheer floor size of the attic not only would have provided room to store the coins, but also would have meant the coins' weight could be spread over a wide area. Assuming the attic was floored with thick cypress wood beams, it would have been able to support the weight of the coins, the researchers say.
Because the Parthenon was located centrally, people would've had an easier time securing and accessing the money there. And criminals would be less likely to steal the coins, as the Parthenon was a temple for Athena — meaning any theft from it would be considered a crime against the goddess.
"The attic of the Parthenon is the only suitable space large enough to hold all of the coins in the Treasury," Pope said in an email. "While we cannot rule out the possibility that coins were distributed across numerous buildings, we should recall that the attic is the most secure space."
Researchers say that the coins may have been stored in boxes whose dimensions could be standardized to make counting easier.
Pope co-wrote the scientific paper with Peter Schultz, a professor at Concordia College at Minnesota, and David Scahill, a researcher at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.