Viking Age silver cache discovered in Finland with metal detector by amateur archaeologist

An amateur archaeologist identified the location of a hoard of thousands of silver coins from the Viking Age in a Finnish town while scouring the area with his metal detector, according to museum officials.

Kalle Lappinen discovered the silver spot in Sysmä, Finland, on Sept. 3, leading archaeologists to retrieve almost 10 pounds of silver the next day, according to a Lahti Museums press release, which helped lead retrieval efforts.

Lahti Museums said this was the largest coin cache discovery in Finland from the Late Iron Age.

The tranche included many silver coins, as well as a silver bracelet, silver fragment, silver clasp and silver bead, according to the press release.

The treasure was buried in two different birch bark containers about 18 inches below the ground and about 40 feet apart, Esko Tikkala, the archaeologist who carried out the inspection, told ABC News.

It is unclear why the trove was buried -- perhaps it was a merchant who buried it for safety or a wealthy inhabitant who left it there in case of an attack, Tikkala said.

The exact weight and number of coins are not yet known, as they have yet to be counted, cleaned and sorted, but there appear to be thousands, according to the museum.

Lappinen felt "disbelief" upon finding the silver, then had a rush of adrenaline because of such an interesting discovery, he told ABC News.

Lappinen said he normally searches for artifacts to prove an Iron Age site existed in the area, while hoards like the one he found are an exception, which he described as "fascinating."

The Viking Age is considered to span the years 1000 to 1050 AD, a subset of the Late Iron Age, which is about 800 to 1200 or 1300 AD, according to Tikkala.

Sysmä is now a modest place, but archaeological material found in the area suggests it was once a bustling hub with many trade connections in the Iron Age, Tikkala said.