- Start
- Apr 10, 202690% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
- End
- May 13, 202690% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Two Detectorists Find the Mørstad Hoard, Norway's Largest Viking Age Coin Treasure
- The Mørstad Hoard was found on 10 April 2026 by metal detectorists Vegard Sørlie and Rune Sætre near Rena in Østerdalen, southeastern Norway[1]
- The Museum of Cultural History took over the fieldwork on 5 May and finished the systematic excavation by 13 May 2026, recovering 4,772 coins, with a final total expected to exceed 5,000[1]
- It was probably buried around 1046-1047: "The newest coins that have been found date from Harald Hardrada's earliest years as king," said Professor Svein Gullbekk[1]
- More than 95% of the coins come from present-day England and Germany, linking Østerdalen to the international trade network of the time[1]
- It is larger than the next four biggest Norwegian Viking Age coin hoards combined; under Norwegian heritage law it belongs to the public and will be conserved, catalogued and photographed at the museum[1]
- Earlier reports of the find counted about 3,000 coins, and the hoard also holds hacksilver fragments of silver brooches[2]
References 285% CONFIDENCEOverall confidence: 85%How well the pin's source and references back up its dates.Weighted average of how firmly 2 references, the source included, support the pin's start and end times; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newestShow all pins at 75% confidence or better
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%khm.uio.no/english/news/morstad-hoard.htmlkhm.uio.no· Posted Oct 1, 2026· Starts Apr 10, 2026 ✓· Ends May 13, 2026 ✓· 64% of score
The Museum of Cultural History's own page gives the discovery on 10 April 2026, with its excavation from 5 to 13 May.
- [2]75%'Unprecedented' Find of More Than 3,000 Coins Becomes Norway's Largest Viking Age Hoard - Arkeonewsarkeonews.net· Published Apr 30, 2026· 36% of score
Archaeology news report from the early excavation, with the first coin counts and the find circumstances.[1]
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