One of the Dutch historians discovered a 1000-year-old treasure in the form of four ear pendants, two strips of gold leaf and 39 silver coins. This was announced by the Leiden Museum. Lorenzo Ruijter, 27, told Reuters he had been searching for the treasure since he was 10 years old. He discovered the treasure in 2021 in the small northern town of Hogwood using a metal detector. “It was very specific to find such precious things, I can’t even describe it. I didn’t expect to find something like that,” he said, admitting he wasn’t. easy to keep a secret about the treasure for two years.
Jewelry from the Hogwood excavations (Netherlands).
Photo source: ARCHEOLOGY WEST-FRIESLAND/FLEUR SCHINNING.
The experts needed time to find out the origin and date of the objects found. As a result, the age of the “freshest” piece in the hoard is 773 years, which convinced them that the hoard was “buried” in 1250, that is, in the 13th century. Jewelry decorations date back to the 11th century. “Gold jewelry in the early Middle Ages was a rarity for the Netherlands,” the museum noted.
According to scientists, the treasure has been buried in order to protect expensive goods from prying eyes, since the middle of the 13th century. there was fighting between West Friesland and Holland, and Hogwood was at the very epicenter of these events.
