Archaeologists working in Scotland have made a noteworthy discovery: an Anglo-Saxon coin estimated to be around 1,000 years old. This coin was minted under the reign of a king known as Ethelred the Unready. The find was made during an excavation in Nesting, a coastal area of the eastern Shetland Islands, reports Jam Press.
Images reveal the coin covered in a thick, greenish-brown patina, but you can still make out some markings on its surface. Originally, the excavation aimed to investigate prehistoric structures endangered by coastal erosion, as noted by Archaeology Shetland. The archaeological investigation also looked at nearby Iron Age structures.
The artifact was crafted between 991 and 997 A.D.
The coin features King Ethelred the Unready, who was the ruler of England from 978 to 1013 A.D. Known for his unsuccessful attempts against Viking invasions, Ethelred was pushed from the throne by the Danish king Swein Forkbeard. However, he regained control in 1014 and ruled until his death in 1016, making him the longest-reigning Anglo-Saxon monarch.
Elinor Graham, an archaeologist from the University of Aberdeen, was on vacation in Shetland when she helped with the excavation. She stated, “The writing on the coin is still so sharp, and we knew immediately that it was extremely rare, actually unique, in this context.”
The discovery of this coin could provide insights into ancient trade routes between Viking-controlled Shetland and Anglo-Saxon England. Researchers haven’t ruled out the possibility that the coin could have been taken during a Norse raid. Previous Anglo-Saxon coins have been found at Old Scatness, an archaeological site in southern Shetland, making this find the northernmost of its kind.
Scotland’s Treasure Trove Unit will decide if the artifact should be offered to a museum. Graham hopes the coin will be added to the collections at the Shetland Museum and Archives. She indicated that the discovery suggests the area might have been home to a “well-connected cosmopolitan community” with trading links to Anglo-Saxon England.
“It’s an area with a huge amount of history through the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the early medieval period, and into the Viking Norse period,” Graham stated. The ancient coin joins a list of many uncovered across the United Kingdom, such as a nearly 1,750-year-old Roman coin discovered during a railway construction project in England. In Scotland, a metal detectorist found a 900-year-old coin believed to be the oldest ever minted in the country.
The archaeological excavation in Nesting originally aimed to explore prehistoric structures threatened by coastal erosion.