Finland’s largest Viking Age silver hoard found in Sysmä

A metal detectorist has found what is believed to be Finland’s largest known Viking Age silver hoard near the church village of Sysmä, the Lahti Museums said.

The hoard weighs about 4.5 kilograms. It includes silver coins, a fragment of hacksilver, a silver bracelet, a silver pendant and a silver bead. The objects had been placed in two birch-bark containers buried about 45 centimeters underground, between stones and roughly 12 meters apart.

Kalle Lappinen made the discovery last Thursday. The site was inspected the following day, and archaeologists led by Esko Tikkala, from the regional responsible museum, recovered the hoard.

The coins and objects have not yet been cleaned, separated or counted. Their exact weight, number and more precise dating will therefore require further research. The museums said there are thousands of coins.

Until now, Finland’s largest known Viking Age hoard was thought to be one found in Nousiainen in 1895. That discovery contained about 1,700 coins and other objects with a combined weight of about 2.2 kilograms.