Archaeologists make 'absolutely sensational' treasure find in 900-year-old tomb

Swedish archaeologists recently discovered a 12th century tomb during an archaeological dig, and with it, buried treasures.

The Jönköping County Museum reported the find in a March 27 press release, which was translated from Swedish to English. The find was made during the excavation of a grave in an old church in Visingsö, on a Swedish island.

The coins were found in the grave of a man believed to be between 20 and 25 years old at the time of his death. The pieces of metal were made between 1150 and 1180.

"My colleague Kristina Jansson and I found two skeletons in the shaft where the wires were to be laid," explained project leader Anna Ödéen in a statement. "We cleaned the bones from the burials to get an idea of what the graves looked like."

"Suddenly three silver coins appeared! We soon realized that there were many more coins lying next to the left foot of the buried man."

A total of 170 silver bracts were found. A bract is a piece of thin metal in the shape of a coin that was used as jewelry.

While the find may seem like just old metal to some, Swedish historians say the discovery is of great importance to their field.

"This find is very unusual, partly because there are few similar finds from this period and partly because some coins are completely unknown before," the museum said in a statement.

Archaeologists were stumped by the fact that the coins were found in a Christian grave. It was not customary for Christians of the early Middle Ages to be buried with a hoard of coins.

"Rarely are finds made in Christian graves, this custom dates back to prehistoric times, and that makes the find in Wisingsho special," the press release explained. "Why this man in his early 20s brought all these coins to the grave is still unknown.

"Archaeologists at the county museum hope to get more clues as they continue to work with the find."

A Swedish coin expert told the museum that the find was "absolutely sensational."

"This is an absolutely sensational find that will change the history of early medieval coins in Götaland and shed light on a period that is mostly completely unknown," Eeva Jonsson of the Royal Coin Cabinet said in a statement.