The traveler deposited the stash of gold, jewels, and silver coins near the Viking burial mounds in Haithabu some 800 years ago. Whoever that traveler was, and for whatever reason, he or she never returned to collect their treasure.
Just recently, this hoard of precious items has again seen the light of day after it was found by a volunteer metal detectorist in a farmer’s field southwest of Schleswig, Germany, a press release stated.
Buried in soil, the precious items were discovered by detectorist-in-training Nikki Andreas Steinmann. Among numerous valuable objects hidden were two exquisite, jewel-studded gold ear pendants.
Viking burial mounds at Haithabu, southwest of Schleswig, Germany.
Nicki Andreas Steinmann poses with the stash he found at Haithabu, southwest of Schleswig, Germany. (Courtesy of ALSH)
Steinmann had been assigned to a quadrant of the plot to hone his detectorist skills. After finding several coins and two gold items, he and his instructor, Arjen Spießwinkel, notified excavation official Jan Fischer….