The Viking silver hoard discovered on Gotland in 1999 is the Spillings Hoard.
The hoard was found at Spillings farm in northern Gotland, Sweden, during a metal-detector survey. It consisted of several deposits containing silver coins, hacked silver, jewelry, bronze objects, and other materials. Its total weight made it one of the largest Viking silver hoards ever discovered.
The coins provide evidence of Gotland’s extensive connections with the wider Viking world. Many were Islamic dirhams that had travelled westward through trade networks linking the Baltic to regions around the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. The mixed contents also show that Viking wealth was stored not only as complete coins but as weighed pieces of metal.
The Spillings Hoard should not be confused with the Cuerdale Hoard, found in Lancashire, England, in 1840. Cuerdale is one of Britain’s largest Viking hoards, whereas Spillings is associated with Gotland and was discovered more than a century later.