Talk about the discovery of a lifetime. In January 2018, amateur archaeologist René Schön and a 13-year-old student named Luca Malaschnitschenko were exploring the German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea when their metal detector hit on something.
At first, the two thought it was simply aluminum, but they later realized they’d stumbled upon a 10th-century coin from a buried treasure that belonged to a Danish king. It wasn’t until a few months later that German archaeologists uncovered the entire hoard of treasure on the island. Schön and Malaschnitschenko were both invited back to take part in the big dig.
The archaeologists uncovered pearls, about 100 silver coins ranging from the 700s to the 900s, a Thor’s hammer, and jewelry. What a find for a 13-year-kid (and his trusty adult helper).
Researchers believe that the treasure trove belonged to Viking-born Danish king Harry Bluetooth, who abandoned the Viking lifestyle and brought Christianity to Denmark. The king fled Denmark in the late 980s, around the time the recently discovered treasure was buried. Bluetooth’s nickname came from a dead, bluish tooth he sported. The Bluetooth technology we all know and love today is named after the former king.
h/t: Mental Floss
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