Photo: Fotolia
Posted on 12/19/2014 11:36:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A small gold plate belonging to Polish family Sielscy from the Swedish Malmoe turned out to be an archaeological sensation. According to the researchers, it is probably a souvenir from the funeral of the Danish King Harald Bluetooth on the island of Wolin, dated to c. 986 AD.
The discovery was made by 11 years old Maja Sielska, who diligently did her school homework about the Middle Ages. While looking through pictures of coins from this period in the textbook and on the Internet, the girl saw a plate with mysterious inscriptions similar to the one she had received from her grandmother. The schoolgirl showed her family heirloom to her teacher, who in turn passed it on to researchers.
According to archaeologist Sven Rosborn quoted by the Swedish daily afternoon newspaper "Aftonbladet" the find is not a coin, but a golden plaque, probably minted around 986 AD in connection with the funeral of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark on the island of Wolin. The object will undergo further testing by experts from Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
The medieval plate came to the Polish family Sielscy in 1946 in Wolin. "Our cousin received it from the local pastor. My husband’s grandmother collected buttons, coins, she had a huge collection and did not realize the value of this one object. When she was still alive, she sold some things; she kept the plate left it did not look like it was made of gold" - told Ewa Sielska PAP, Maja’s Mai.
Sielscy family from the Malmoe is proud of Maja’s discovery. The teenager became a media sensation in Sweden; the media emphasize that the event with the participation of Polish family shows how important the history classes are in Swedish schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at naukawpolsce.pap.pl ...
Photo: Fotolia
“Danish King Harald Bluetooth” Wow! They had Bluetooth back then.
He fronted a Danish boy band too, you know: Harald Melvin and the Viking Blueteeth.
“If You Don’t Know Me By Now”? They liked to cover that a capella when pillaging villages.
I don’t understand the photo.
The article describes one small plate, then a coin, then a plaque.
Something lost in translation, I think.
The photo looks like 4 normal size plates, and mostly the edges, so we can’t even tell if they are decorated.
IKEA stock photo?
They look like cymbals.
Cymbals of what I can’t really say.
An aunt who picked fruit in the rural fields of England had a natural curiosity when she found artifacts in the soil which were ‘out of place’. She amassed a collection of ancient tools, pottery and relics which attracted the attention of archeaologists and professors from area universities. She probably had only 8 years of basic education, but her intellectual curiosity was amazing.
I want a metal detector for Christmas, so I can find stuff;)
sod
Avidas Zildjin would love those.
Oh man, that was the first thing that came to mind—Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes.
And I haven’t heard of them in years.
GMTA.
Back to the article, this is an outstanding find—something over 1,000 years old.
I think they just needed something, and used that.
Hey, if I had just found a large cache of gold and silver coins, I’d be happy to, well, I’d probably not tell anyone about it, then cheap out on your Christmas present. ;’)
I’ve always been a little jealous of ‘beachcombers’ who live in England, or in most of Europe really, because a metal detector can become quite a source of discoveries, not necessarily ancient ones.
;’)
Well, *he* had Bluetooth. He also had a Blackberry, but alas, it was an *actual* blackberry.
They will never see that again.
Great photos.
Thanks to all.
Re: “They will never see that again.”
My first thought.
Or, grandma will want it back!
Pondering how many humans have lived and died since recorded time (in the billions) you have to wonder where are their remains? We have certainly run out of Churchyard space and with cemeteries are being filled to the brim.... cremation appears to be the solution.
Interesting article here on a million bodies found in Egypt.
http://rt.com/news/215115-egypt-million-mummies-discovered/
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