Massive Gold and Silver Treasure Found in England Will Re-Write Anglo-Saxon History

England remains abuzz with news of the the Staffordshire Hoard (wikipedia article), an unparalleled treasure find dating from Anglo-Saxon times. Both the quality and quantity of this unique treasure are remarkable. The story of how it came to be left in the Staffordshire soil is likely to be more remarkable still.

The Hoard was first discovered in July 2009. The find is likely to spark decades of debate among archaeologists, historians and enthusiasts.It has been said that the find will re-write the known history of the Anglo-Saxon period.

The Staffordshire Hoard is the biggest, and perhaps even most important, find of ancient treasure ever in Britain. And it was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast using basic equipment walking across a farmer's field owned by a friend. In recent years, archaeological fanatics have lobbied to ban metal detecting in Britain which meant that this and other significant treasures would not have come to light and, in fact, may have been unwittingly destroyed and lost forever by unsuspecting farm equipment.  

Leslie Webster, Former Keeper, Department of Prehistory and Europe, British Museum, has already said "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England… as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries. Absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells."

The Hoad comprises in excess of 1,500 individual items. Most are gold, with the balance silver. Many are decorated with precious stones. The quality of the craftsmanship displayed on many of the items is supreme, indicating possible royal ownership.

Stylistically most items appear to date from the seventh century, although there is already debate among experts about when the Hoard first entered the ground.

This was a period of great turmoil. England did not yet exist. A number of kingdoms with tribal loyalties vied with each other in a state of semi-perpetual warfare, with the balance of power constantly ebbing and flowing.

England was also split along religious lines. Christianity, introduced during the Roman occupation then driven to near extinction, was once again the principal religion across most of England

The exact spot where the Hoard lay hidden for a millennium and a half cannot yet be revealed. However it is reported that it is at the heart of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia. There is approximately 5 kg of gold and 1.3 kg of silver (Sutton Hoo had 1.66kg of gold).

The hoard was reported to Duncan Slarke, Finds Liaison Officer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. With the assistance of the finder, the find-spot has been excavated by archaeologists from Staffordshire County Council, lead by Ian Wykes and Steven Dean, and a team from Birmingham Archaeology, project managed by Bob Burrows and funded by English Heritage. The hoard has been examined at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery by Dr Kevin Leahy, National Finds Adviser with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

The Coroner for South Staffordshire, Andrew Haigh, is today (24th September 2009) holding an inquest on the find to decide whether it is treasure under the Treasure Act 1996. If it is declared treasure, the find becomes the property of the Crown, and museums will have the opportunity to acquire it after it has been valued by the Treasure Valuation Committee. The Committee’s remit is to value all treasure finds at their full market value and the finder and landowner will divide the reward between them. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, and Staffordshire County Council wish to preserve the find for the West Midlands.

Click here to visit the official website has been dedicated to sharing information about the Staffordshire Hoard.

Comments

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[Dissertation]

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[Nakhiem]

Thanks very much for the analysis of the site that we laeuchnd. It was a collaborative effort, which involved the work of many, some people I still don't have the names of. I want to give them all credit for their hard work on the site eventually. Everything the Portable Antiquities Scheme produces, we want to share as widely as possible. Our database of 410,000 objects found by the public of England and Wales (and overseas visitors) is made available for anyone to search (it is rather slow, but I am rebuilding that!) and for academics to reuse. We give away our data with just a call for attribution back to the source. What we're recording is a legacy of the destructive nature of archaeology be it professional intervention or amateur metal detecting.I'm not sure everyone in the archaeological sector will agree with how the website was built, methods used etc. However, I built this at the cost of the domain names in 12 hours after I was informed by the boss that we were showcasing online. Standing on the shoulders of others, you can really produce good quality web sites quickly, and I hope people have enjoyed it. The site will keep developing and be embellished with the full object records in due course. In terms of IT cost, I have a budget of a34-5k per annum, which I spend on hosting and bandwidth fees it's shoestring stuff. Our Scheme costs a31.3million a year to employ circa 50 people. It is great value and allows us to appreciate things like the hoard. Sorry, probably gone on a bit there!Here's to a great day for archaeology.Dan

[Shouta]

Jenn, I think this is brilliant. We are crazy about not leinttg Christmas get out of control for Fox but it is so hard. Hard as a parent and hard to keep grandparents in line ! I remember a Christmas when I was about 13 or 14 that I had spent about 2 hours opening gift after gift and sat there with a MOUND of clothes and other goodies piled behind me ..and I sat there thinking . is this it . That Christmas keeps ringing in my ear over and over again at the mear thought of what I was given and how I felt about it. I DONT want to recreate that in Fox. I love this idea .I just might steal it !

[Svetlana]

I used to do the same with magazines. I would dog ear pages and keep each one and then never look at them again. Mostly with ftsiens and parenting mags. I had to stop all my subscriptions and refuse to get any more to break my habit. The day I threw them all out was sad and liberating.My mom was a magazine collector too. She had Women's Day mags from the 70s in her house as recently as 10 years ago!