Swedish archaeologists excavated the medieval port city of Elleholm and found a gold Venetian ducat from the 14th century. This is the first such find in Sweden.
The ducat was minted during the reign of the Venetian doge Andrea Dandolo (1343 - 1354). The obverse of the coin depicts Jesus Christ surrounded by an oval halo (mandorla). On the reverse, the patron saint of Venice, Saint Mark, presents the banner to the Venetian doge.
The city of Elleholm was located on the small island of Murrumson in the province of Blekinge. It originated around Schöborg Castle. The population was originally engaged in salmon fishing in the river flowing into the sea. Archaeological evidence suggests that already in 1343 it played the role of a seaport, although it was first mentioned in the annals in 1424, and the official status of the city of Elleholm received only in 1450. At that time, the province of Blekinge was Danish territory, and the city of Elleholm was ruled Catholic bishop of Lund. In 1536, as a result of the Swedish reformation, the bishops were expelled and the city became Swedish.
In 1564, the city was destroyed during the so-called Scandinavian Seven Years War, in which Sweden opposed Denmark, Poland and Lubeck. After that, he never returned to its former value. First of all, this was due to the fact that Elleholm was located too high along the river and therefore could not receive heavy sea ships. Residents from it moved to neighboring Sölversborg and Bodekull (later renamed Karlshamn), where conditions for the port were more convenient. By the beginning of the 17th century, Elleholm was completely abandoned.
The remains of the abandoned city were first examined by Swedish archaeologists in 1924. Since then, there has been no excavation for a long time, until in 2016 the annual archaeological expedition of the Bekinge Museum and the Lund Ethnographic Museum began work there. A 14th century gold ducat found this season and another find - a Flemish lead seal dating from the first half of the 14th century - indicate that Elleholm became a center of international trade about a century earlier than historians generally believed.