8-year-old picks up odd-looking item on beach vacation — and finds Viking-era artifact

Aspen Pflughoeft
Thu, September 14, 2023 


While on vacation in Sweden with his family, an 8-year-old boy spotted an unusual-looking object. He picked it up and kept walking. Only later did he realize he’d found an ancient Viking artifact.

Bruno Tillema was walking along a beach in Gotland while on vacation with his family, the County Administrative Board in Gotland County said in a Sept. 8 news release. As they were walking, the 8-year-old scanned the ground hoping to find a fossil.

Bruno’s father, Andreas Tillema, told Newsweek, “We had just given him a book about fossils, and because of that he was actively scanning the ground.”

A weird-looking metal object caught Bruno’s attention, the release said. Thinking it might be part of a house, he scooped it up. The item had a dark brown color, triangular shape and looked intricately carved, photos show.

“He just casually picked it up and continued walking,” Tillema told Newsweek. “Eventually, his mom asked him what he held in his hands, and seeing it she couldn’t really believe it was a real artifact either.”

Archaeologists identified Bruno’s find as a Viking-era bronze buckle, the release said. The buckle was shaped like an animal’s head and was at least 900 years old.

During a follow-up excavation of the area, archaeologists found another ancient Viking buckle shaped like a ring, the release said. Photos show the two bronze artifacts.

The Viking-era animal-head-shaped buckle (left) and ring-shaped buckle (right) found in Gotland.

Bronze buckles were worn on costumes during the late Iron Age and early Viking Age, Therese Lindström, a Gotland County official, said in the release. Ring-shaped buckles have been found in men’s and women’s graves while animal head-shaped buckles are usually found in women’s graves, she said.

The buckles were likely buried in a now-damaged grave and reemerged because of agricultural work, the release said.

The artifacts will be preserved and placed in a collection, officials said.

“Bruno is really proud of what he found and happy that he’s finally allowed to tell people about it,” Tillema told Newsweek. “He has even started thinking about becoming an archaeologist when he grows up. His dream is to find a T. rex skull.”

Gotland is an island in the Baltic Sea off the southern coast of Sweden. The island is about 150 miles south of Stockholm.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the County Administrative Board in Gotland County.