Hvad siger den arkæologiske kontekst

Since the late 19th century, chance finds and archaeological excavations in Sigtuna have brought to light seven small hoards and at least 103 singly found coins dating from the Viking Age. What was the role of these coins? A close examination of the archaeological context of each find may give indications of the last instance of use of the coin at the moment when it was deposited in the ground. However, this requires that the excavations are carried out according to the single-context method, which was not the case in Sigtuna before 1999. Since then, Viking Age coins have been found at five excavations. In all, 33 singly found coins and five small hoards have come to light. While a few coins had been redeposited by various kinds of earth work, most coins were in their original position or very close to it. Some coins had been deliberately deposited in graves, and there are one or two instances of house offerings. A few coins may be interpreted as raw material for the silversmith, but the bulk of the coins seems to be accidental losses from everyday coin circulation. They were widely scattered over the excavated surfaces, mostly being from private premises, showing that coin use was a general phenomenon in the life of the city. Many finds could be linked to craft workshops. Seemingly, coin use did not take off before c. 1020. This coincides with the quasi-halt of coin production in Sigtuna and may explain why so few locally produced coins are found in the city.