{"id":14258,"date":"2025-12-09T13:44:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=14258"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:44:38","slug":"metal-detectorist-says-900-year-old-jesus-figure-revealed-itself-to-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/12\/metal-detectorist-says-900-year-old-jesus-figure-revealed-itself-to-him.html","title":{"rendered":"Metal Detectorist Says 900-Year-Old Jesus Figure \u201crevealed\u201d Itself to Him"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_14261\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14261\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14261\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2025\/12\/treasure_Hunter-credit-detecting_fjords-instagram.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14261\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">@detecting_fjords-instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A metal detectorist in Norway made an incredible discovery: a 900-year-old figurine of Jesus Christ. Metal detectorist Kim Erik Dybvik\u2019s hobby began as a child while living in a remote part of Norway where his father worked as a lightkeeper. The islet where he grew up was filled with volcanic rock, which sparked his imagination about the types of rare rocks he might find, including possibly gold. His childhood dream of becoming an archaeologist eventually gave way to a career in healthcare, but Dybvik\u2019s childhood hobby continued into his adulthood, with Dybvik and fellow metal detectorist Warren Schmidt uncovering the small, gilded figurine on November 1<sup>st<\/sup> in a field in \u00c5ndalsnes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was extremely windy \u2014 so windy that at times we struggled to stay on our feet. But we persevered\u2026 We found 78 buttons, some coins, buckles, a medieval weight and a lot of the usual finds,\u201d Dybvik told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/he-revealed-himself-me-treasure-hunter-unearths-900-year-old-figure-jesus-windswept-field\"><em>Fox News<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWarren was almost at the car, and I was a bit behind, when I suddenly got a strong signal from my detector. A strong signal usually indicates a large object and is often not a good sign \u2014 it can easily be trash. I bent down, and right beneath the surface, he revealed himself to me \u2014 I looked Jesus straight in the eyes,\u201d he said. As an experienced detectorist, Dybvik could tell he had something special \u201cI quickly dismissed the idea that it could be modern \u2014 I recognized the medieval style and remains of gilding. I carefully set it down and ran to Warren, saying, \u2018I want to share this moment with you \u2014 I may have just made my best find ever.\u2019 Warren was also completely blown away.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Field archaeologist Aaron Johnston examined the figurine. It was dated to around 1100 AD with county archaeologist Kristoffer Dahle now overseeing its conservation. Dybvik stated it\u2019s the first discovery of its kind that has been uncovered in Norway in such a way. The discovery is extra special given the significance of the date it was found on. November 1<sup>st<\/sup> is known as \u201cAll Saints\u2019 Day,\u201d a day meant to honor Christian martyrs and saints. The exact nature of the figurine has yet to be determined, with Dybvik hoping it will be put on display for the public in the future. \u201cThat\u2019s why I am passionate about this \u2014 to help ensure that pieces of our cultural heritage can contribute to a clearer picture of who we are and where we come from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A metal detectorist in Norway made an incredible discovery: a 900-year-old figurine of Jesus Christ. Metal detectorist Kim Erik Dybvik\u2019s hobby began as a child while living in a remote part of Norway where his father worked as a lightkeeper. The islet where he grew up was filled with volcanic rock, which sparked his imagination&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":14261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Metal Detectorist Says 900-Year-Old Jesus Figure \u201crevealed\u201d Itself to Him<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Norwegian metal detectorist discovered a 900-year-old gilded figurine of Jesus on All Saints\u2019 Day\u2014hailed as a rare medieval treasure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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