A rare, priceless, 11th-century gold earring found by a metal detectorist in Denmark has unearthed a fascinating history. The earring is believed by experts to have been gifted to a Viking chief by the emperor of Byzantium some 1,000 years ago, attesting to the Vikings’ far-reaching connections. It is the only known earring of its kind in the whole of Scandinavia. The discovery was made by metal detectorist Frants Fugl Vestergaard, 54, in a field near Bøvling, West Jutland. Vestergaard, who had frequented the field in search of treasures for some time, crushed a lump of soil in his hand after his detector sounded and was shocked when the falling dirt yielded gold. “Time stood still for me,” Vestergaard recalled, as translated from a Danish National Museum press release. “I felt very humbled and wondered why I should find that piece, and then even in West Jutland.” “It’s like getting …