“The design of the coin relates to known coins of the kings Siefredus and Cnut, who ruled the Viking kingdom of Northumbria around AD900, but Harthacnut is otherwise unrecorded”, said a spokesman for the British Museum, while briefing about a “hugely significant” hoard discovered buried underground in north Lancashire. The hoard was identified in a pot made up of lead. The pot also contained 10 arm rings along with two finger rings, six brooch and 14 ingots.

Experts have anticipated that the hoard is around 1,000 years old and contains more than 200 coins, ingots as well as some elegant pieces of silver jewellery. However, they are still carrying out tests with the hoard. Sources have confirmed that a corner is expected to make a decision, most probably later this week, to see if it qualifies as treasure.

Sources have claimed that hoard has 201 silver objects in total, including 27 coins. The estimated date of burial is around 900AD, probably when Dublin witnessed expel of Vikings and struggles with the Anglo-Saxons in order to regulate the north of England.

The central London museum unveiled the hoard yesterday and marked it as the fourth confirmed largest hoard, including Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Viking, German and Islamic coins.

Besides silver object, coins that are expected to belong to the era of Alfred the Great and the Viking kingdom of Northumbria also grabbed attention of the majority of people with a particular interest in history. Alfred the Great reigned from 871 to 899.

In addition, the spokesman tagged it as a highly significant discovery that can play a significant role in exploring some unknown facts from the history of that particular era, although he emphasized on the need of more research work on the recently identified hoard.