Ragnar Lothbrok and the Cuerdale Hoard: Viking Silver in the Irish Sea

In 1840, workmen repairing a road near Cuerdale in Lancashire uncovered the single largest Viking silver hoard ever found outside Russia — over 8,600 coins, ingots, and hacked silver weighing some 40 kilograms. This episode traces the hoard's journey from the silver mines of the Abbasid Caliphate, through the hands of the Uí Ímair dynasty, to its burial around 905 AD on the banks of the River Ribble. Lucas and Luna explore how the Cuerdale Hoard reshapes our understanding of Viking trade networks, the role of the Irish Sea as a commercial highway, and the political turmoil that may have led its owners to hide it. What can the coins and hack-silver tell us about the ambitions of the Viking kings of York and Dublin? And why did no one ever come back for it? Join us as we dig into one of the most spectacular archaeological treasures of the Viking Age. #VikingAge #CuerdaleHoard #UíÍmair #VikingSilver #IrishSea #Numismatics #HackSilver #AbbasidCaliphate #Dirhams #Jórvík #Dublin #RiverRibble #Lancashire #VikingTrade #EarlyMedieval #Archaeology #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo