History will tell that in early 2021, Ole Ginnerup Schytz He bought a metal detector to be able to pursue one of his favorite hobbies: his archeology hobby. A friend gave him permission to “play” for a while in a field owned by him. A few hours later he returned with news that was confirmed at the end of the same year: he found one of the greatest gold treasures of Denmark’s pre-Viking history.

The site was subsequently excavated by professional archaeologists from Vejlemuseerne, in collaboration with experts from the National Museum and with funding from the Agency for Culture and Palaces. They managed to extract 22 unique items.

Archaeologists now know that the treasure it was buried about 1,500 years ago. The studies, and the numerous samples and data collected, will provide valuable insight into the links and circumstances that led to the treasure being buried by a strong Iron Age chief of the locality of Vindelev.

The discovery of the huge amount of gold shows that Vindelev was a center of power in the late Iron Age.

“Only a member of high society could have collected a treasure like the one found here,” explains the head of research at Vejlemuseerne. Mads Raven.

Vindelev’s treasure consists of beautifully decorated saucer-sized medallions, the so-called bracts. There is also Roman coins that have become jewels. They occur in a combination and with techniques of which comparable examples have never been seen. Therefore, the experts describe the quality of this find as unique.

“It is the symbols of the objects that make them unique, more than its value in gold, which is one kilogramRaven added.

Among the pieces, there is also one that refers to the Roman emperor Constantinesince the beginning of the 4th century According to the first examinations, the treasure may have been buried as an offering to the gods in a time of severe climate change, when temperatures became very cold after a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 536, which covered the sky with clouds of ash causing fear and famine.

“There are many symbols, some never seen beforewhich will allow us to broaden our knowledge of the people of this period, “said Ravn

The treasure was found nearby Jelling, southwestern Denmarkwhich according to historians became the Cradle of the Viking kings between the 8th and 12th centuries.

It will be on display at the Vejle museum as part of the great Viking exhibition which opens on February 3, 2022.

One of the exhibits is a bract that has a male head with a braid and various runes. under the head you see a horse and a bird with which man communicates. There is a runic inscription between the muzzle and the front legs of the horse, which according to preliminary interpretations reads ‘I have to’; ‘the high’.

For researchers, the appearance of the heavy gold coin of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (285-337 AD) clearly speaks of a European continent that was already in the Iron Age closely linked by trade and war.

Researchers believe that the basis of the Viking age society and in this period there is a united Danish kingdom.