Sandur Hoard

The Sandur hoard of the Faroe Islands was found in Sandur in 1863 and consists of 98 silver coins,[1] which were probably buried between 1070 and 1080. The hoard is the oldest and only coin hoard found on the archipelago.

The coin hoard from Sandur is interesting not only due to the age of the coins, but also due to their origin, because it indicates with which countries the Faroers already traded in the 11th century. It is generally assumed the Viking age ended on the Faroe Islands in 1035. In the following time period, the Faroe Islands came increasingly under the influence of Norway, which then led to the actual monetary system of the Faroe Islands.

Today the coins are located at the National Museum of the Faroe Islands (Faroese: Føroya Fornminnissavn) in Tórshavn and are among the main attractions there.

Find location and owner

The coins were found in 1863 purely by accident. Gravediggers were digging a grave in the cemetery of Sandur, which had to be particularly deep in order to bury the bodies of two plague victims.

The find location was at the spot where the altar of the first church of Sandur (the second church ever on the Faroe Island) stood. Today historians conjecture that this church was the private church of a wealthy farmer, since in the immediate neighborhood a Viking cemetery was excavated. It could be that this treasure belonged to the wealthy farmer and not to the church.

If the coins were from a wealthy farmer, the large number of coins from Germany point towards the export of Faroese wool there and/or to middlemen, who traded with these coins.

Index of the coins

Literature

References

External links

Coordinates: 61°50′33″N 6°48′28″W / 61.84250°N 6.80778°W / 61.84250; -6.80778

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