Family's backyard search for earring turns up evidence of Viking settlement in Norway

A recent discovery by a family using a metal detector in their backyard marked the first time evidence of Viking settlement on the remote Norwegian island of Jomfruland has been found.

The Aasvik family used a metal detector in their garden to find a loved one's lost gold earring but uncovered treasures instead: various Viking-era artifacts.

That's according to a Facebook post last week by the Cultural Heritage of Vestfold and Telemark County Council.

“As soon as they turned on the metal detector they found something, but not the jewelry they had lost,” a statement from the Vestfold and Telemark County Municipality read. 

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The discovery

The municipality said they believe the site could be an aristocratic woman’s grave from the 800s. Images show the family with artifacts that were intricately engraved with animals and geometric patterns. An archeologist who spoke to Live Science said they believe that the two items are oval-shaped brooches, made from bronze and once gilded with gold, used in the 9th-century to fasten a halter dress' shoulder straps at the front. The Archeologist told Live Science they are unsure if the site of the finds will be excavated because it may be protected as a grave.

According to Rune Nordseter, a spokesperson for Vestfold and Telemark County Municipality, researchers knew settlements have existed on Jomfruland since as far back as the early Middle Ages and believed it was inhabited in the Viking Age, but this may be evidence to concretely prove it.