Arabic coins found in Gotland!

Just how can we explain the great hoards of coins, hundreds of thousands from Arabian sources, found in Scandinavia and Gotland in particular?

http://www.gotmus.i.se/1engelska/skatter/engelska/introduction.htm

Regards,

From my earlier site;

"During the 9th century, the vikings’ trading journeys to the vast Russian market underwent an expansion. The Early Viking Age silver hoards contained almost exclusively Arabic silver coins, so-called dirhams. They flowed in great quantities from the Islamic Empire to the towns along the Russian rivers and out towards the Baltic Sea Coast.

For each decade that passed, the number of coins in the hoards increased. The Gotlandic yields account for almost half of all the the 9th century dirhams found in Sweden. Of the total number of 689 000 Arabic, Volga-Bulgarian and Byzantine coins unearthed in Sweden, 513 000 come from Gotland."

Note especially these words;

"During the 9th century, the vikings’ trading journeys to the vast Russian market underwent an expansion. The Early Viking Age silver hoards contained almost exclusively Arabic silver coins, so-called dirhams. They flowed in great quantities from the Islamic Empire to the towns along the Russian rivers and out towards the Baltic Sea Coast."

The very beginning of the Islamic Calendar begins only in the Christian year 622,or the seventh century CE!

And, maybe two hundred years later Arabic coins are so prevalent that they seem to make up the greatest part of Viking loot, recovered from the area of Russia?

Please see;

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MH_LM/arabia_before_islam.htm

And; http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/suttonlink/340ismap.html

What I am getting at is the use of the words Arabic coins! This cannot really mean coins minted in or around Arabia! It must be influenced by the finding of Arabic letters and words, upon these coins!

I might well make the assumption, that even if Arabic was found upon these coins, it might well be the "Eastern Arabic" variaty rather than our more common usage of the term Arabic Numerals?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals

"Adoption in Russia
Cyrillic numerals were a numbering system derived from the Cyrillic alphabet, used by South and East Slavic peoples. The system was used in Russia as late as the early 1700s when Peter the Great replaced it with Arabic numerals."

But, it seems that history tells us that Cyrillic numerals were used by most South and East Slavic peoples, with Russia, only adopting the Arabic numerals in the early 18th century! So, this vast horde of coins might not it seems, have made up a vast part of the coinage to be found within Russia or its neighbors, before the 13th century at least?

Maybe these "Arabic" coins made there way to Scandanavia, via the Western Arabic world instead?

Regards,

No doubt Viking traders brought them back after a successful business trip selling slaves, carved soapstone, metalwork and plundered treasure

Silver coins would also have been melted down to make jewelery. The Vikings frequently decorated their swords with intricate silver thread designs

Roman and Arabic coins have been found at Native American sites up and down the East Coast of the US, of course they just floated there on a wreck or something sim.  And yes, that's sarcasm.

Yes, absolutely possible.  However the scope of areas found in, is much broader than the known viking routes.  And yes they would have been traded out to other tribes or groups.

Nick, there's considerable evidence the Irish were here as well, the Celts before them.  As I've mentioned before, In the river valley system I live in there have been many artifacts found with inscriptions going from runic to Iberian and Tartession.  Any of these folks could have and probaly did use coins for trade.

A note to Red Clay there have been many Roman coin finds in North America, including a parking meter in Los Angeles, perhaps  'Marcus Aurelius COMMODUS Antoninus Augustus' parked his wagon there when escaping 'Maximus Decimus Meridius who is out to get his revenge in this world or the next.

 

There is NO evidence whatsoever that either Irish or Romans ever went to North America, the Vikings went but other than that nothing but Hoaxes, wrong headedness or silliness in the extreme has been found to suggest any contact between Europe and North America.

 

The Romans had no reason to even try and go further than they could see, they only came to Britannia to stop the tribes here supplying arms to the Gauls, and also they saw a good return on the investment by mining tin, trade and protection of trade were the Roman driving forces.

 

And whilst Tim Sevrin proved that a person in the 20th Century could navigate to North America in a leather boat, his compatriot Michael O'Leary flies Ryanair to the US in a simpler easier manner and makes much more money, although Sevrin had big sales of his book, and that was his driving force, profit.

 

Again not one shred of evidence the Irish ever went, and the writings he got his inspiration from probably refer to Iceland at the furthest, and more likely Norway.

 

No Roman nor contemporary or Irish lol ever went to North Amercia and the idea is in the very silly class of ideas, save it for fantasy sites, not those purporting to support proper History.

 

Yes Nick I was perhaps a little harsh with you, however it was the way you posted about the Coins turning up, which seemed to me to infer it was a mystery, when in fact no mystery is there.

Red, it's OK. I don't think John meant to cause offence. John, as you're new here, please read this:
http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6512&FID=3&PR=3