Top Five Viking Fabulous Hoards: Treasure for the Dead and Gods
The Vikings had a tradition of burying many valuable things with the dead or for the gods. They buried treasures with the dead in order for the dead to live with luxury in their afterlife and sacrificed treasures for the gods with the hope of gods' blessing and protection.
Hoards have been excavated from the land and debates never stop. From the hoards, the scholars have put forward pretty many theories about the Viking religions, economy, commercial exchange, historic travel, social structure, etc.
Below are the top five luxurious Viking hoards that contain not only treasures but also unexplained mysteries.
Hoen Hoard
The Hoen Hoard was found in 1834 in Øvre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway. It was listed among the most important Viking hoards known from Norway. The hoard included 207 pieces: 2 golden torcs, three golden arm rings, one gold brooch, 20 coins, 132 glass beads and semi-precious stones. The archaeologists believed that the hoard was buried around the 8th or 9th century. It is now on display in the Kulturhistorisk Museum in Oslo.
Viking Hoen Hoard
Vale of York Hoard
The hoard was discovered in 2007 in North Yorkshire. The scholars believed that it was buried in 927 AD and contained up to 617 silver coins. The hoard included jewelry and treasure from different parts, not merely Scandinavia. The treasure was accumulated from raiding and pillaging.
Some pieces of the hoard came from Russia, Central Asia, and other parts of Europe.
Vale of York hoard currently on display in the museum
Arlanda Hoard
The hoard was found near the International Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, Sweden. About 470 coins were found inside this hoard. The coins were minted roughly 7th or 8th century and were buried into the land circa 850 AD.
Viking Arlanda Hoard
Cuerdale Hoard
The hoard was located near Cuerdale, England. It was not until 1840 that the hoard finally came to the public eye, after roughly 8 centuries. By the times the hoard hit the headlines, it had become the largest and heaviest Viking hoard. Most of the objects found inside the hoards belonged to the Vikings: torcs, hacksilver, brooches, chain, and coins. 8600 pieces came from the hoard. Most of the artifacts found were damaged. The archaeologists believed that these broken signs happened prior to the excavation. They were likely to be broken down for weight exchange or to be melted down.
Pieces from the Cuerdale hoard
Spillings Hoard
The hoard was excavated in 1999 from Slite, Gotland, Sweden. This enormous collection of silver weighed about 148 lbs (roughly 67 kg). 486 silver arm rings made up to 60% of the hoard's treasure.
The hoard becomes the largest Viking hoard in Gotland.
Viking Spillings Hoard included a large number of Viking valuable treasures.
