Evidence of a heretofore unknown Viking king has been unearthed in Lancashire, England, where a metal detectorist uncovered a stash of over 200 silver artifacts.

A coin found in the stash bore the name Airdeconut, which is believed to be a Anglicization of the Scandinavian name Harthacnut. The backside of the coin bears a Christian inscription. The importance of this coin is that it shows that, by the late 9th century, permanent viking settlements in Britain had converted to Christianity.