September
16
/ 2026
A metal detectorist hunting in the woods of his hometown has uncovered Finland’s largest Viking Age silver hoard, a cache of thousands of coins and jewelry weighing about 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds). The silver was packed into two birch-bark containers and buried among stones near Sysmä’s church village, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Helsinki. Kalle Lappinen made the find on 3 September 2026. The next day, archaeologist Esko Tikkala of Lahti Museums recovered both deposits. Officials date the coins and ornaments to about 1000–1050 AD, at the close of the Viking Age in Finland’s Late Iron Age. Homeowner Unearths Denmark's Largest Ever Viking Silver Hoard “Truly Exceptional”: Norway’s Largest Viking Ho ard Found With 3,000 Silver Coins Viking
