A Swedish fisherman stumbled upon a piece of history while searching for worms near his summer house. Instead of buying bait, he decided to dig for worms himself — and unearthed a 12th-century treasure buried beneath the soil.

According to Popsci, what he found was far more valuable than a handful of worms. The fisherman discovered a 6-kilogram copper cauldron filled with ancient riches — including around 20,000 silver coins, rings, necklaces, and other jewelry.

Antiques expert Sofia Andersson described the discovery as “possibly one of the largest silver hoards from the early Middle Ages ever found in Sweden.”

Most of the coins date back to the 12th century and bear the name of King Knut Eriksson, who ruled Sweden between 1140 and 1195. Examination of the other artifacts continues in the lab, and historians believe the find could shed new light on medieval Scandinavian history.

Under Swedish law, anyone who discovers ancient silver artifacts is entitled to a finder’s reward — meaning the fisherman’s days of worrying about bait money are over. In fact, his unexpected discovery may have earned him enough to last a lifetime.