The silver hoard, uncovered at Spillings in Othem parish in the northeast of Gotland, is the largest preserved Viking Age silver hoard in the world. Weighing 67 kilos, the silver hoard is unique. When it was unearthed in 1999, it caused a sensation both in Sweden and abroad, both in its own right and because of the additional bronze hoard, weighing 20 kilos and deposed quite close to the silver hoard. Today, all objects have been registered, photographed, measured and weighed. Scholars from different disciplines have examined the objects in detail, in an attempt to explain the remarkable composition of the hoard, and the reason why it was stashed away more than 1000 years ago.

Most of the 14300 coins emanate from the East, and the bronze objects are almost exclusively of Baltic origins. This hoard, like so many other archaeological artifacts from Gotland's rich Viking Age, bears witness to a comprehensive commercial network both around the Baltic Sea and in far more distant regions in the east. An overall picture of this widespread network, as well as historians' views on the subject, are presented in this publication.

Six authors, each working within their particular scholarly discipline, expound on up-to-date knowledge of various aspects of the hoard, including the hoard itself and contacts with the surrounding world, rounding off with a recent study of how the hoard has influenced islanders living in the neighborhood.