BERLIN, GERMANY—The Guardian reports that metal detectorists investigating Germany’s Rügen Island helped archaeologists to discover a trove of silver artifacts that may be linked to Harald Bluetooth, who ruled Denmark, northern Germany, southern Sweden, and parts of Norway from about A.D. 958 to 986. The pair found a piece of silver and alerted the regional archaeology service, who investigated an area covering 4,300 square feet, and recovered braided necklaces, pearls, brooches, a Thor’s hammer, rings, and as many as 600 coins. More than 100 of the coins date to the reign of Harald Bluetooth, while the oldest in the cache dates to A.D. 714. “This trove is the biggest single discovery of Bluetooth coins in the southern Baltic Sea region and is therefore of great significance,” said archaeologist Michael Schirren. The treasure is thought to have been buried in the late 980s, when Bluetooth fled to Pomerania in the wake of a rebellion led by his son. To read in-depth about Viking coin hoards on another island in the Baltic Sea, go to "Hoards of the Vikings."
