Metal detectorist scans hill in Poland — and unearths rare 11th-century treasure
Jacek Drozdowski trekked up a hill, metal detector in hand, in hopes of picking up a signal. That’s when his metal detector alerted him to something in the ground.
The history enthusiast had located a collection of 13 pieces of silver coins buried about 6 inches in the ground, the Ostróda Museum told Science in Poland, a subset of the national news agency, according to a Nov. 28 post. Most of the coins are cross denarii — a type of Roman coin — and date to about the 11th century.
A photo shows the intricately decorated pieces of silver depicting various symbols.
Drozdowski was on a weekend expedition with the Iława Search Group when he found the coins, he told Science in Poland. The discovery is rare for the area.
Although rare, the coins fit with experts’ understanding of the region’s history, Łukasz Szczepański, an expert from the museum, told Science in Poland. Researchers believe the artifacts were used by a network of Prussian settlements that existed between the 11th and 12th centuries.
The Iława Search Group previously discovered other Roman coins, artifacts from the Napoleonic Wars era and a gilded ring, officials said.
Google Translate was used to translate a story from Science in Poland.
This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Metal detectorist scans hill in Poland — and unearths rare 11th-century treasure."
