Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Spillings Hoard, discovered on the 16th of July 1999 at Spillings farm northwest of Slite, is the world's largest Viking silver treasure. It weighed a total of 67 kg divided into two parts and contained approximately 14,000 coins, most of Islamic origin, along with roughly 20 kg of bronze objects and various everyday items. The farmer who owned the land received a finder's fee of over 2 million kronor.
Gotland has been inhabited since approximately 7200 BCE, making it one of the longest continuously occupied places in northern Europe. Archaeological sites such as the Ajvide Settlement confirm prehistoric occupation, and a DNA study on 5,000-year-old skeletal remains found there linked the island's Middle Neolithic population to modern-day Finns.
Gotland accumulated more Arab dirhams than any other site in Western Eurasia because of its role in the Viking-era Silver-Fur Road trade network. Rus merchants trading with the Abbasid Caliphate funneled silver northward through Gotlandic traders, who distributed it across the Baltic and into broader European commercial networks.
The Gotland Regiment was re-established in 2018, the first time since World War II that a new regiment had been created in Sweden. Following Sweden's accession to NATO after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish government committed 150 million euros to expand military infrastructure on the island.
Almedalen Week is a major Swedish political event held each summer in Visby, the main town on Gotland. It is followed directly by Medieval Week, and together the two events significantly boost the island's already high summer visitor numbers.
Gotland has 94 medieval churches, most of which are restored and in active use. The older ones were built in the Romanesque style between 1150 and 1250; the newer ones followed the Gothic style that prevailed from around 1250 to 1400. The oldest painting inside any of these churches dates to the 12th century.