March 23rd, 2023: Where did they find it? What is in the treasure? Find out in the article.
A Dutch historian unearthed a rare, 1,000-year-old golden treasure from the Middle Ages that included 39 silver coins, two strips of gold leaf, and four golden ear ornaments, declared the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden).
Using a metal detector, Lorenzo Ruijter, 27, had been searching for treasure since he was 10 years old, found the treasure in 2021 in the little northern city of Hoogwoud, Netherlands.
Ruijter said, “It was very special discovering something this valuable, I can't really describe it. I never expected to discover anything like this.” He also mentioned that it was hard for him to keep it a secret for 2 years. The National Museum of Antiquities' experts required the time to clean, examine, and date the treasure's artifacts. They have since discovered that the earliest coin may be dated to approximately 1250, leading them to believe that the collection was buried at that time.
The museum stated that, “Golden jewellery from the High Middle Ages is extremely rare in the Netherlands.” According to the museum, Hoogwoud was the centre of a conflict between the Dutch provinces of West Friesland and Holland in the middle of the 13th century. Ruijter mentioned that the expensive items may have been buried by a strong individual at that point to safeguard them, with the intention of recovering them once the situation was secure once more.
