An amateur archaeologist and his teenage sidekick have unearthed a trove of silver artefacts thought to have belonged to Danish King Harald Bluetooth – the royal inspiration for the technology of the same name.
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René Schön and 13-year-old Luca Malaschnitschenko found the hoard while searching northern Rugen Island with their metal detectors in January. A much more expansive dig undertaken in recent days revealed necklaces, pearls, brooches and up to 600 chipped coins that may have belonged to Harald Gormsson, better known as ‘Harry Bluetooth.’
Bluetooth reigned over what is now Denmark, northern Germany, southern Sweden and Norway from AD958 to 986. "It was the find of my life," Schön told Deutsche Welle. The amateur archaeological sleuth and his teenage student joined a team of professionals to dig up an area covering 400 sq meters (4,300 sq ft) over the weekend.
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Bluetooth technology received its name after a developer read a historical novel about the 10th century king and felt that the technology unites communications protocols much in the same way as the king united Denmark’s disparate tribes during his reign. Even the Bluetooth logo is a ligature of two runes, each symbol representing an initial of his name.
More than 100 pieces at the site date back to the time of Bluetooth's reign. “This trove is the biggest single discovery of Bluetooth coins in the southern Baltic Sea region and is therefore of great significance,” the archaeologist Michael Schirren told national news agency DPA.
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