Erlend Bore works as head of the food safety department at a company in Norway. But the job involves a lot of sitting and he is advised by his physiotherapist and GP to go out and exercise. At the beginning of the summer, he therefore buys a metal detector.
– I wanted to be an archaeologist as a child and I thought I would buy myself a metal detector, says Bore to NRK.
One Sunday at the end of August, Bore is out hunting. After searching for hours without success, the metal detector suddenly makes a loud noise and he sees something yellow glittering on the ground. At first he thinks it’s an old candy wrapper. But when he picks up a clod of earth, it suddenly cracks – in his hands are now a number of small gold pearls.
– I contacted the county archaeologist and sent a photo of the find. Shortly afterwards, he called and said it was a gold treasure from the Migration Period.
“Gold find of the century”
Erlend’s find consists of nine gold pendants with a coin-like object in the middle, all with an engraved horse. In addition, he finds ten gold beads and three gold rings. The jewelry is believed to have been buried in the 6th century.
– These are centuries of gold finds in Norway. And to find so much at once is extremely unusual, says Ole Madsen, director of the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger to NRK.
Now Erlend Bore’s find is to be exhibited at the museum in Stavanger, but he does not plan to put the metal detector on the shelf for it.
– I have not yet found a silver coin. There’s a lot I can still tick off.