A CHANCE discovery on Furness soil by an amateur metal detectorist is set to re-write the history books, say experts.

Viking history is being turned on its head by the find of 92 rare silver coins and assorted artefacts dating to around 955 AD, indisputably linking the area with Norse.

The find dates from a time when England was meant to have been unified under King Athelstan, which according to history occurred after a gathering of the English Kings at Eamont Bridge, in 927 AD.

But Dr Gareth Williams, Viking expert at the British Museum, claims this find challenges that belief.

“On the basis of the information and photographs I have seen so far, this is fascinating.

“By the mid-950s, most of England had become integrated into a single kingdom, but this part of the North West was not integrated into the English Kingdom until much later, and the hoard reflects that.”