Norwegian family finds Viking-era relics while looking for earring

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• 5 hours ago
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SOURCE,CULTURAL HERITAGE OF VESTFOLD AND TELEMARK COUNTY
Image caption,
One expert concluded that the buckle dates from between 780 and 850
By George Wright
BBC News
A family in Norway were searching for a lost gold earring in their garden when they decided
to get their metal detector out.
They did not find the earring but did stumble upon something else: artefacts dating back more than
1,000 years.
The Aasvik family dug up a bowl-shaped buckle and another item that appear to be part of a
Viking-era burial.
Experts believe the artefacts were used in the ninth-century burial of a woman on the small island
of Jomfruland.
The discovery was made under a large tree in the centre of the family's garden on the island, off
Norway's south coast.
"We congratulate the family who found the first safe Viking-time find at Jomfruland," the Cultural
Heritage of Vestfold and Telemark County Council wrote in a Facebook post.
IMAGE SOURCE,CULTURAL HERITAGE OF VESTFOLD AND TELEMARK COUNTY
Image caption,
The discovery was made on the small island of Jomfruland
Experts knew there had been settlements on the island dating back hundreds of years, but
evidence only went back to the Middle Ages.
One expert concluded that the buckle dates from between 780 and 850.
Officials praised the Aasvik family for immediately telling authorities about the rare discovery.