They, the hobby metal detectorists, walk under a pale omelette sun on a windswept April soil at Sem in Eiker. They have plugs in their ears, and their eyes are fixed on the ground. With their seekers, the metal detectors, they sweep over the field – like sniffing, hunting anteaters. “Beep … beep … -pipipipipipippiiiip”. Rash! Here is something! And voila! – then one of them with careful shoveling has picked up a genuine coin from the Viking Age. Just as Thor Eirik Gilje has just done. – It’s really exciting! We’re talking about the Viking Age, I’m guessing this one is from the end of the 7th century, exclaims Gilje as he studies the coin between his fingertips. With a newly enamored look at the find, he chuckles happily: – This one has traveled a long way to get here, it is from Iraq at the time, he states. – How do you know that? – You see this in the inscriptions! – No, I don’t see that. You see it! – Haha! Yes. From land to museum This weekend, hobby metal detectorists together with archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in collaboration with the National Antiquarian and Viken county municipality put a field outside Hokksund under the microscope. They go in droves – and they make discovery after discovery. – This is an English coin, a penny from the Middle Ages. 13th century. The seeker gave a clear, fine signal. It has good silver content. Tobias Kvanli has just found a medieval coin. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news 16-year-old Tobias Kvanli, together with his father and a couple of others from Stavanger, made the trip to Eiker. It quickly paid off for the youngster. – What happens to the coin? – It is going to a museum. I do this for the hobby, I’m interested in the history. Bronze Age and soda cans So far, the searches are almost only superficial. The metal detectors only find objects that are 10 to 20 centimeters below the ground. – It’s only in May that it gets really exciting. Then the archaeologists from the Cultural History Museum will carry out a three-month excavation here, says excavation leader Christian Løchsen Rødsrud. Excavation leader Christian Løchsen Rødsrud is excited about the findings. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news The applicants are constantly making decisions. Coins from the 16th century, belt buckles and pieces of ceramic jars are picked up from the ground. Dated to the Iron Age and Middle Ages. – This is a very unique area, notes the excavation manager. He adds that it is particularly worth noting several finds of suit buckles during the weekend. – They are from the Merovingian period (approx. 600-800). Since this is a period we know far less about than the subsequent Viking Age, we are extra excited about what this part of the land will bring during the excavations. Again it beeps around us. But it’s not all silver and gold that glitters and “beeps”. – You might just as well find a slightly worn cheese grater from 1982? – Hehe yes. We pick up rubbish in the same bin, replies Rødsrud as we pass a large and well-filled plastic bag with soda cans. Right here lies a historical drama hidden under the turf and soil. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news Tobias Kvanli shows off the coin. Parts of a jar, probably slightly older than the one you have in your kitchen cupboard at home. Exciting with a twist from a bygone era. Good “catch” after the first searches. The Viking coin is studied carefully. – A good collaboration between archaeologists and metal detectorists can secure such cultural heritage values, which would otherwise be destroyed as a result of active agricultural operations, says national antiquarian Hanna Geiran. All important finds are placed in small bags that go to the county archaeologist for registration before they are sent to museum. Discovery of graves, karped pond and church Professor of archaeology, Jes Martens and Morten Hanisch from Viken county municipality open a map and show. – Here we have carried out a search with georadar and several exciting discoveries have been made. We think these are graves, carp ponds and traces of a garden. Perhaps there is also a church tuft on a field to the south of where the detectorists are searching. – These findings may indicate that this place has had a central role in Norway’s prehistory, they explain with eager pointing fingers. Tobias Kvanli in search. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran is eagerly watching – and so is Morten Hanisch from Viken county municipality and professor of archaeology, Jes Martens. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news The excavation has a budget of NOK 7.9 million, and is financed with state funds from the National Archives. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran is eagerly following the findings and is looking forward to the excavation at Sem. – The collaboration between us who work in cultural heritage management and voluntary metal detectors is incredibly valuable. They have a lot of expertise and knowledge in search, and together we gain more knowledge. – Rarely exciting area Just over 10 years ago, hobby metal detectorists made discoveries that put Sem in Eiker in a special class. Fragments of an Irish reliquary, a Frankish fitting, coins from the Viking Age and the Middle Ages as well as fragments of a distinctive needle from the Bronze Age, dated to around 600 BC, were then handed in. – The finds bear witness to an environment with wealth, broad contact with the world, and a history that stretches far back in time, comments archaeologist Professor Martens. – This is a rare exciting area. Riksantikvar Hanna Geiran is eagerly watching what Anders Lippert finds. The result was a silver coin from the time of Christian IV, around 1620. – The dream is to find something from the Viking Age, and even older, he says. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news He draws attention to the fact that Sem i Eiker has had an “optimal geographical location for trade routes with ships and boats, and the finds bear witness to a long-standing and widespread trade and contact with large parts of Europe”. – So Viking ships have sailed here? – Yes, it has. It is rare to find such rich archaeological sites with such a long history in a Scandinavian context. Therefore, great excitement is attached to the excavation, which will start soon. – The discovery potential is very large, stresses national antiquarian Geiran. A new Viking treasure? Almost 200 years ago, the largest treasure from the Norwegian Viking Age, the Hoenskatten, was found buried just a couple of kilometers away from Sem. This has caused many archaeologists to scratch their heads extra. “Why exactly there?” The latest discoveries may thus be the missing pieces of the puzzle when everything is put in context with what is referred to as the “power center at Sem”. However, no one dares to promise a new “Hoenskatt”. But that is why the metal detectorists sweep the fields. That is why the archaeologists have to dig. Hoping to find something. Something big. “Beep-beep-beep”. – No, no tax. It’s just an old liver paste tin, laughs Roger Torgersen. Rune Torgersen has found two shillings from the 17th century. And yes, a couple of boxes of liver paste. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news
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Found Viking coins and treasures on the land in Eiker – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
