The University of Stavanger’s Museum of Archaeology opened its doors Friday to what’s being dubbed “the gold discovery of the century:” Nine coin-like engraved pendants along with 10 gold beads and three gold rings from around 500 AD, all found by a man out walking with a metal detector.
Erlend Bore told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that he’d just recently taken up the hobby as a means of getting more fresh air and exercise. He literally struck gold during one of his first expeditions last month on the island of Rennesøy, just north of Stavanger.
He did what all Norwegian citizens are supposed to, and contacted local authorities, who in turn alerted the museum. Its staff moved quickly to secure the site, take care of the gold and include at least some of it in a fall exhibit (external link to the museum’s site) that already was opening this month.
Bore and the owner of the land where the gold was found are both eligible for a finders’ fee yet to be determined by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
