Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Sweden finds Viking-era Arab coins

Archaelogists in Sweden have found a rare collection of Viking-era silver Arab coins close to Stockholm's Arlanda airport.

About 472 coins were discovered at an early Iron Age burial site.

The majority of the coins were minted in Damascus and Baghdad, but some are from North Africa and Persia.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Karin Beckman-Thoor, from the Swedish National Heritage Board, said that the coins were probably swapped for Viking goods such as iron, furs and amber in the Baltic states or Russia where Vikings would have met with people who had traded with Arabs.
 
 

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