Sixty Years Later: He Discovers That Fragments Unearthed Beneath a Church Are Genuine Treasure

[Article déjà publié le 15 mars 2024]

14 pieces found under a church

The two boys managed to recover a total of 14 silver pieces. Jan Gunnar Fugelsnes had carefully tidy them in a small yellow Kodak slide box, before losing sight of them until November 2023. It was therefore almost 60 years later that he decided to declare his find to the authorities of the Municipality of the County of Møre Og Romsdal.

After in-depth analysis of the documents, archaeologists think that the latter date … from the Middle Ages. Obviously, at his young age, Jan Gunnar Fugelsnes had no idea of the importance of his find. “” “We were only children doing a treasure hunt under the church, we did not realize how rare the parts were ”had explained the Norwegian, who adds that his brother and had found him, at the same time as the parts, a pearl of amber and nine needles.

Child treasures, national treasure

In addition to the historical value, this anecdote takes on a sentimental and emotional aspect which could make one think of a cult scene from Amélie Poulain's film, where a little boy finds with emotion his treasures of children…. With the difference that these treasures have real archaeological value.

According to the County archaeologist, Carl-Fredrik Wahr-Hansen FRENCES, certain pieces could go back to the 13th century, around 1280 during the reign of the Norwegian king Marcus VI. Some could be a little more recent and date from the reign of Christian I, king of Norway from 1450 to 1481. The archaeologist explains that this find is extremely rare, because elsewhere in the center of Norway, “There is literally only a handful of these pieces that have been kept to the present day”.

Parts, needles, a pearl

The other objects discovered by the two brothers, apparently unimportant? In reality, not at all! The analyzes revealed that the needles also went back to the 13th century and could have belonged to the clothes of a deceased. As for the Amber pearl, it could come from a prayer rosary used by priests and deacons.

In accordance with Norwegian legislation on the conservation of archaeological artefacts, which stipulates that all the objects manufactured before 1605 are the property of the State, unless they belonged to an individual before 1905, Jan Gunnar Fugesnes gave his 14 silver coins to the municipality of the county. They will be preserved there and may have the opportunity to be exhibited.

Source: Foxnews