Amateur archeologist makes rare find
An amateur archeologist has made an unusual sixth century find at the burial mounds in Sättuna on the outskirts of Linköping.
On the first day of excavations at the site in the south east of Sweden, Niklas Krantz discovered a patrix, a sort of die used to emboss pieces of gold.
"Only six or seven of these patrices - patterns for the manufacture of golden figures depicting human images - have been found.
"They come from very high status environments in southern Scandinavia," said excavation manager Martin Rundkvist told Sveriges Radio.
This particular stamp, which is approximately two centimetres long and one centimetre wide, portrays a woman who resembles a troll.
When Niklas Krantz first came upon the object with his metal detector, he thought it might have belonged to a clasp for a belt.
"After a while I realized that it was a major find. I didn't know at first, so it feels good," he told Sveriges Radio.
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On the first day of excavations at the site in the south east of Sweden, Niklas Krantz discovered a patrix, a sort of die used to emboss pieces of gold.
"Only six or seven of these patrices - patterns for the manufacture of golden figures depicting human images - have been found.
"They come from very high status environments in southern Scandinavia," said excavation manager Martin Rundkvist told Sveriges Radio.
This particular stamp, which is approximately two centimetres long and one centimetre wide, portrays a woman who resembles a troll.
When Niklas Krantz first came upon the object with his metal detector, he thought it might have belonged to a clasp for a belt.
"After a while I realized that it was a major find. I didn't know at first, so it feels good," he told Sveriges Radio.
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