At Vestervang, on the Danish island of Zealand, archaeologists and metal detectorists have uncovered 20 stunning pieces of Iron Age jewelry. While most of the adornments date to the Viking period and are made of bronze, some of them are gilded or covered in gold foil. All but two pieces are Scandinavian in origin.

Vestervang was, for many centuries, a fairly modest farmstead. Thus, archaeologist Ole Kastholm of the Roskilde Museum was surprised to find such lavish artifacts there. “My explanation for the richness of the finds is that the farmstead was owned by one of the Viking king’s retainers. Furthermore, the site is close to the town of Lejre, which was the capital city of Zealand between A.D. 500 and 1000.”