Guy With Metal Detector Makes 'Find of the Century'

When doctors told Erlend Bore to get off the couch, he went out and bought his first ever metal detector. The Norwegian had always dreamed of being an archaeologist and figured if he didn't find anything, at least he'd get some exercise. He did get out walking, but he also made what an expert calls "the gold find of the century in Norway." The 51-year-old was out scanning the Earth on the southern island of Rennesøy last month when his device began beeping. For a moment, Bore thought he was looking at foil-wrapped chocolate coins. But what emerged from a hillside were nine gold medallions, 10 gold pearls, and three gold rings. Altogether, there was more than 100 grams of gold. "It was totally unreal," Bore says, per the Guardian.

It's "the gold find of the century in Norway," says Ole Madsen, head of the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology. "To find that much gold all at once is extremely unusual." Archaeologists, who took over the site, say the cache represents an opulent necklace crafted by skilled jewelers more than 1,500 years old. It's "a very showy necklace" dating to about AD500 and was likely worn by the most powerful of society, says Håkon Reiersen, an associate professor at the museum, per CBS News. "In Norway, no similar discovery has been made since the 19th century," he notes. "Given the location of the discovery and what we know from other similar finds, this is probably a matter of either hidden valuables or an offering to the gods during dramatic times."

Sigmund Oehrl, another professor at the museum, says 1,000 similar medallions—thin, single-sided gold medals called bracteates—have been found in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They typically show the Norse god Odin healing the sick horse of his son. Bore's medallions also show an injured horse, who has a "slumped posture and twisted legs" and whose tongue hangs out of its mouth. "The horse symbol represented illness and distress, but at the same time hope for healing and new life," Oehrl says. The museum says the cache "will be preserved and displayed as soon as possible in our upcoming exhibition." The jewelry becomes state property under Norwegian law, though Bore and the landowner will receive a reward, per the Guardian. (More discoveries stories.)