A Viking sword fragment was discovered by a metal detectorist in the Netherlands.
The finder immediately identified the discovery as a pommel cap.
An ancient discovery was made in the Netherlands using a metal detector for the first time.
The Fries Museum and the Fryske Akademy announced in a press release that the discovered artifact was a 10th-century Viking sword fragment.
On May 3, 2024, Sander Visser was scanning the farmland near Witmarsum, Netherlands, with his metal detector.
While scouring the land, something caused his metal detector to sound.
Visser unearthed an ancient object that was easily identifiable as a pommel after digging only about eight inches deep.
The pommel was easily identifiable due to its distinctive decoration.
Viking culture associated wild boar heads with strength, courage, combat, and protection, as symbolized by their presence on each end of the heads, according to the press release.
The ancient discovery supports the role of modern-day Friesland in Viking networks, according to the press release.
"The discovery of a unique pommel cap in Frisia has enhanced our understanding of the Viking Age in the region, as well as the connections between Frisia and the Viking world in Scandinavia and the British Isles. Dr. Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm, director of the Fryske Akademy and an expert on Frisia and the Viking world, made this statement in a press release."
The Viking artifact's history is a mystery waiting to be unraveled through further research.
The Fries Museum and the Fryske Akademy are collaborating on the study of this artifact, with more insight planned for publication at the end of 2025, as stated in the press release.
Dr. Diana Spiekhout, curator of Middle Ages and Mount Culture at the Fries Museum, stated in a press release that by combining our areas of expertise, we can study this find from various angles, including the Frisian context, the Viking world, and from sword traditions.
Metal detectors have helped uncover discoveries worldwide.
In 2023, a group of history enthusiasts in Devon, England, unearthed a hoard of 21 ancient coins, which they dubbed the Okey Hoard.
In September 2019, an archaeologist named George Ridgway discovered over 680 ancient gold and silver coins using a metal detector in Suffolk.
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