Around 100 Arabic silver coins, a braided necklace, and other jewelry, as well as a large number of clipped silver pieces.
The silver treasure submitted by an anonymous agent is impressive, notes Anders Kraft, who is an antiquarian at the County Administrative Board in Jönköping County.
It's a unique find. Just that it's not just coins, but a whole lot of other objects, like the necklace, too, he says.
Found illegally
At the same time, he regrets that the treasure find was made illegally – through metal detection without a permit.
Even though an archaeological investigation of the find site will be conducted in the spring, there is a risk that much information has been lost.
We've known about the find since 2019 and fought to get the treasure. It was discovered in an illegal way, and we've made a police report, says Anders Kraft.
A previous attempt was made to submit it through an agent, but those involved got cold feet. So it's a relief that we've got it now.
Contacts abroad
The discovered silver weighs a total of just under a kilogram and, despite being from the early Viking Age, around 800-900 AD.
The find shows, according to Anders Kraft, that even Småland's Vikings had contacts with abroad, likely via the rivers in Russia and Ukraine and down to Constantinople (Istanbul).
They likely came into contact with the silver as a commodity and got it in exchange for, for example, slaves, furs, or iron, he says.
The treasure will now be examined by, among others, a coin expert and go through conservation. The hope is that it can eventually be exhibited at Jönköping County Museum.
