Schoolboy, 13, unearths hoard from the era of Bluetooth king
A 13-YEAR-OLD boy and an amateur archaeologist, armed with metal detectors, have discovered a 1,000-year-old hoard of coins in Germany from the era of Harald Bluetooth, the king who brought Christianity to Denmark.
The discovery of a single silver coin by Rene Schoen and his student, Luca Malaschnitschenko, o n Rügen island in the Baltic – which they initially thought to be a worthless piece of aluminium – prompted a 400 square metre (4,300 square feet) dig by the state archaeology department last weekend.
Braided necklaces, pearls, brooches, a Thor’s hammer, rings and up to 600 chipped coins were found, including more than 100 that date back to the era of Harald, who reigned from 958 to 986 and conquered a territory that absorbed what is now Denmark, northern Germany, southern Sweden and parts of Norway.
“This trove is the biggest single discovery of Bluetooth coins in the southern Baltic Sea region and is, therefore, of great significance,” lead archaeologist Michael Schirren said.
“This was the (biggest) discovery of my life,” Mr Schoen said.
The Mecklenburg-west Pomerania state archaeology office said the two amateur archaeologists were asked to keep quiet about their discovery to give professionals time to plan the dig, and were then invited to participate in the recovery.
The oldest coin found in the trove is a Damascus dirham dating to 714, while the most recent is a penny dating to 983. The find suggests that the treasure may have been buried in the late 980s – also the period when Harald was
‘We have here the rare case of a discovery that appears to corroborate historical sources’
known to have fled to Pomerania, where he died in 987.
“We have here the rare case of a dis- covery that appears to corroborate historical sources,” said archaeologist Detlef Jantzen.
Harald turned his back on old Norse religion and introduced Christianity to Denmark but was forced to flee to Pomerania after a rebellion led by his son, Sweyn Forkbeard, who later became the first Danish king of England. His nickname came from the fact that he had a dead tooth that looked bluish, but it is now best known for the wireless Bluetooth technology invented by Swedish telecom company Ericsson. The company named the technology, developed to wirelessly unite computers with cellular devices, after him for his ability to unite ancient Scandinavia.
The technology logo carries the runic letters for his initials, HB.