– It was fantastic, says project manager Kathrine Stene about the find. In an excavation at Hov, near the E6 between Mjøsbrua and Lillehammer, archaeologists have recently found five small, rare gold coins. The gold pieces are about the size of a fingernail, and are embossed with motifs that usually show a man and a woman wearing different costumes, jewelery and hairstyles. Kathrine Stene is the project manager for the excavations at Hov. She shows off one of the little gold coins they have found. Photo: REIDAR GREGERSEN / news In previous excavations, archaeologists have found 30 such golden old men here, in connection with what the archaeologists believe was once a god’s house or god’s court. Excavations due to new E6 The first discovery was made in 1993. It is due to the construction of the new E6 that the archaeologists are back again. – We had actually expected and hoped for it, but it was not a foregone conclusion, says Stene about the discovery. These five golden old men were found outside Lillehammer this year. Photo: Nicolai Andreas Eckhoff The golden old men date back to the Merovingian period in Norway, which stretched from around 550 AD. to the Viking Age. C14 dating can confirm the building’s age. It was Forskning.no that first wrote about the gold find. Special location Although the archaeologists have found 30 other golden old men here at Hov, last time in 2008, this is a very special find. The finds were discovered and excavated in the place where they were probably placed in their time. – It is the first time we can say with certainty that they have been laid in the wall foundation. We know exactly where you can find it in the building. A couple? Why do the Goldilocks look like this? Photo: NICOLAI ANDREAS ECKHOFF Three of the golden old men were found near what was once the wall of a god’s house, while the other two were found in separate post holes. – We assume that they were put down at the same time as the pole or the building was erected. This gives the archaeologists valuable insight into the building’s origins and how the golden men may have been connected to it. Goldilocks are small. Photo: Nicolai Andreas Eckhoff More theories about the golden men The golden men are special. It was not so common to depict people in the Merovingian era, says Ingunn Marit Røstad. She is an archaeologist at the Museum of Cultural History and an expert on, among other things, the Norwegian Merovingian period and the Golden Age. The tiny pieces also have unique details and have been found in special places, either in connection with courts or halls where pre-Christian rituals are believed to have been carried out. There are various theories as to why the golden old men are placed there. – Exactly what it actually is, there is some disagreement about that. There are so many interpretations, says Røstad. Which theory about the Goldilocks do you think is most correct? The golden old men were used in religious ceremonies as offerings.⛪ The golden old men were used in connection with a fertility ritual. 💏 The golden old men were used as a form of entrance ticket to, for example, a house of worship.🎟️ Golden old men with depictions of a mythological pair of gods served as legitimization of the power of the leading aristocratic families, who traced their ancestry back to the gods.👑 Show result One theory is that the golden old men were used in religious ceremonies as offerings. – I think that as a victim it is quite likely myself, she says. She also highlights the couple on the golden old man, who are interpreted as a pair of gods. That it can symbolize the god Frøy and the jot woman Gerd and a fertility cult. The goldenrods are about the size of a fingernail. Photo: Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo Very rare to find – It is rare that such discoveries are made, says Røstad. But she says that a number of golden old men have been found in southern Scandinavia. And there is something special about the place they are digging on now in Norway. – There have never been as many found in one place in Norway as there are at this place at Hov in Lillehammer, she says. In connection with the construction of the new E6 outside Lillehammer, the archaeologists are digging in the ground for several gold nuggets. Photo: Reidar Gregersen The golden old men found in other places are similar, but she says that you can see the difference in different regions. For example, several single old men have been found in Denmark. – In Norway, it is a couple, a man and a woman, who are on the motifs that are found. The excavation at Hov continues through this week. The archaeologists are hoping for more discoveries. – We hope to find more. We are at the very end, but we have found one post and there are many posts that remain, says project manager Stene. Small gold coins have been found underground at Hov outside Lillehammer. Photo: Reidar Gregersen / news
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– It was fantastic – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
