The long-lost tomb of a Viking king whose name inspired Bluetooth wireless technology may have been found in a village in Poland.
Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson was king of Denmark from 958 to 986 AD, consolidating his rule with the islands of Jutland and Zealend. Harald is credited with uniting the Scandinavian countries by introducing Christianity and received the nickname Blåtand (meaning blue tooth) because of a dead tooth that historians describe as dark blue.
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During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction of numerous public works, including the reconsolidation of Aros castle, the construction of several ring forts, and the commissioning of the Ravning Bridge, which crossed Ravning Enge’s meadows on the Vejle River.
Harald Bluetooth’s biography is summarized by a runic inscription on the Jelling stones, which reads: “King Harald ordered these monuments to be built after his father Gorm and his mother Thyra. Harald who won all of Denmark and Norway and converted the Danes to Christianity.”
In more recent years, the Bluetooth wireless technology used to connect devices was named after Harald, based on the analogy that it would unite devices in the same way Harald united the Danish tribes into one kingdom. The Bluetooth logo is made up of his initials, the runes H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ).
Now, a research team led by Marek Kryda has applied space-based reconnaissance on the landscape around Wiejkowo to search for archaeological remains, some of which can be as small as 30 cm in length. The study revealed a large Viking Age tumulus under the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wiejkowo, which was later confirmed using ground-penetrating radar.
In 2014, the rediscovery of a gold disk known as the Curmsun disk led to speculation that Harald was buried in the vicinity. The disk bears a Latin inscription describing the “ruler of the Danes, Scania and the Viking stronghold of Jomsborg”, today’s town of Wolin, just 5.6 km west of Wiejkowo.
Researchers believe the disk was originally buried next to skeletal remains discovered in 1841 as part of Viking Age artifacts under the church where the tumulus was discovered.
Reports at the time described a silver coin from the reign of Otto I, a bronze bracelet with a line decoration on its surface, another bronze bracelet fragment, a small stamped gold piece and the Curmsun Disk.
After the disc’s original discovery, the artifacts remained in the church basement until 1945, when a Polish army major, Stefan Sielski, and his brother Michal entered and recovered the remains. The disk was only rediscovered in 2014 when Sielski’s 11-year-old grandson stumbled upon the artifact in a hidden chest stored with old buttons.
The First News. June 28, 2022.
