# Anglo-Saxon Treasure Found in Britain - NY Times



## Yrys (24 Sep 2009)

Anglo-Saxon Treasure Found in Britain







LONDON (AP) -- It's an unprecedented find that could revolutionize ideas about 
medieval England's Germanic rulers: An amateur treasure-hunter searching a 
farmer's field with a metal detector unearthed a huge collection of Anglo-Saxon 
gold and silver artifacts.

The discovery sent a thrill through Britain's archaeological community, which said 
Thursday that it offers new insight into the world of the Anglo-Saxons, who ruled 
England from the fifth century until the 1066 Norman invasion and whose cultural 
influence is still felt throughout the English-speaking world.

''This is just a fantastic find completely out of the blue,'' Roger Bland, who managed 
the cache's excavation, told The Associated Press. ''It will make us rethink the Dark 
Ages.'' The treasure trove includes intricately designed helmet crests embossed with 
a frieze of running animals, enamel-studded sword fittings and a checkerboard piece 
inlaid with garnets and gold. One gold band bore a biblical inscription in Latin calling 
on God to drive away the bearer's enemies.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes who invaded England starting in 
the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Their artisans made striking objects 
out of gold and enamel, and their language, Old English, is a precursor of modern 
English. The cache of gold and silver pieces was discovered in what was once Mercia, 
one of five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and is thought to date to between 675 and 725.

For Terry Herbert, the unemployed metal-detecting enthusiast who made the discovery 
on July 5 while scouring a friend's farm in the western region of Staffordshire, it was 
''more fun than winning the lottery.'' The 55-year-old spent five days searching the field 
alone before he realized he needed help and notified authorities. Professional 
archaeologists then took over the find.

''I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items,'' Herbert said of the experience.

The gold alone in the collection weighs 11 pounds and suggests that early medieval England 
was a far wealthier place than previously believed, according to Leslie Webster, the former 
curator of Anglo-Saxon archaeology at the British Museum. She said the crosses and other 
religious artifacts mixed in with the military items might shed new light on the relationship 
between Christianity and warfare among the Anglo-Saxons -- in particular a large cross she 
said may have been carried into battle.

The hoard was officially declared treasure by a coroner on Thursday, which means it will be 
valued by experts and offered up for sale to a museum in Britain. Proceeds will be split 50-
50 between Herbert and his farmer friend, who has not been identified. The find's exact 
location is being kept secret to deter looters.

Bland said he could not give a precise figure for the value of the collection, but said the two 
could each be in line for a ''seven-figure sum.''

Kevin Leahy, the archaeologist who catalogued the find, said the stash includes dozens of 
pommel caps -- decorative elements attached to the knobs of swords -- and appeared to be 
war loot. He noted that ''Beowulf,'' the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, contains a reference to 
warriors stripping the pommels of their enemies' weapons as mementoes. ''It looks like a 
collection of trophies, but it is impossible to say if the hoard was the spoils from a single 
battle or a long and highly successful military career,'' he said.

''We also cannot say who the original, or the final, owners were, who took it from them, 
why they buried it or when? It will be debated for decades.''

Experts said they've so far examined a total of 1,345 items. But they've also recovered 
56 pieces of earth that X-ray analysis suggests contain more artifacts -- meaning the total 
could rise to about 1,500. The craftsmanship was some of the highest-quality ever seen 
in finds of this kind, Leahy said, and many British archaeologists clearly shared his 
enthusiasm.

Bland, who has documented discoveries across Britain, called it ''completely unique.'' Martin 
Welch, a specialist in Anglo-Saxon archaeology at University College London, said no one had 
found ''anything like this in this country before.'' Herbert said one expert likened his discovery 
to finding Egyptian Pharoah Tutankhamen's tomb, adding: ''I just flushed all over when he said 
that. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.''

The collection is in storage at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, where some of the items 
are to go on display starting Friday. It's unclear how the gold ended up in the field, although 
archaeologists suggested it may have been buried to hide the loot from roving enemies, a 
common practice at the time. The site's location is unusual as well -- Anglo-Saxon remains 
have tended to cluster in the country's south and east, while the so-called ''Staffordshire hoard'' 
was found in the west.

In the meantime, archaeologists say they're likely to be busy for years puzzling out the meaning 
of some of the collection's more unusual pieces -- like five enigmatic gold snakes or a strip of 
gold bearing a crudely written and misspelled Biblical inscription in Latin.

''Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face,'' 
reads the inscription, believed to be from the Book of Numbers.

Also of interest is the largest of the crosses, which experts say may have been an altar or 
processional piece. It had been folded, possibly to make it fit into a small space prior to 
burial, and the apparent lack of respect shown to such a Christian symbol may point to the 
hoard being buried by pagans. ''The things that we can't identify are the ones that are going 
to teach us something new,'' Leahy said.

For England, a country at the edge of Europe whose history owes an enormous debt to the 
Anglo-Saxons, the find has the potential to become one of its top national treasures, according 
to Webster.

Caroline Barton, assistant treasure registrar at the British Museum, said objects over 300 years 
old and made up of more that 10 percent precious metal are only offered for sale to accredited 
museums in Britain, so the collection will not be leaving the country.

------

Associated Press writer Karolina Tagaris in London contributed to this report.

------

On the Net:

http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/


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## vonGarvin (25 Sep 2009)

Awesome find!


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## GAP (25 Sep 2009)

Wouldn't it be fascinating to know the actual story behind this (This is while I am reading Serpent Wars by Raymond E. Feist  )


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## helpup (25 Sep 2009)

You could make a very interesting movie, book, Drama about this.  Learn what you can from the find, extrapolate what you can and "Fictionalize" the rest.


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## PMedMoe (25 Sep 2009)

Caught a bit of this on the news last night.  Very interesting!!


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## Kirkhill (25 Sep 2009)

As I said to Yrys last night in a PM - given the location, I'm betting on the Welsh.   Taffy's Hoard.  ;D


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## the 48th regulator (25 Sep 2009)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/image_galleries/anglo_saxon_gold_gallery.shtml?1 

Very good gallery of the find.

Good on him.  I have always wanted to go off and do that, metal detecting.  It can be long and tedious, finding nails and pennies, but when you hit a hoard, of historical significance, man the feeling!

This was an area known as Mercia, and this is fantastic for fans of Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories which takes place in this area. I would say that it may be either hidden treasure of Aethelbert of Kent, either by his people or from raiders.

dileas

tess


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## Kat Stevens (25 Sep 2009)

Kirkhill said:
			
		

> As I said to Yrys last night in a PM - given the location, I'm betting on the Welsh.   Taffy's Hoard.  ;D



Please, at the time they were Britons, probably the last ones left, other than in Cornwall.


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## mariomike (25 Sep 2009)

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> I have always wanted to go off and do that, metal detecting.  It can be long and tedious, finding nails and pennies, but when you hit a hoard, of historical significance, man the feeling!



You could also help solve a crime:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_n2_v64/ai_16677480/


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## Kirkhill (25 Sep 2009)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> Please, at the time they were Britons, probably the last ones left, other than in Cornwall.



Mind you don't forget Cumbria and Strathclyde there.... Dumfries (the fort of the Frieslanders) and Dumbarton (the fort of the Britons).

Inferest apposition with Offa's Dyke which was built in that general vicinity by the Saxon Offa just after the estimated date of that find.  And that dyke was built with the ditch on the Welsh side and the parapet on the Saxon side - ie designed for the Saxons to defend against the Welsh (OK Kat, Britons if you must  ;D) . It was built pretty much along the same lines, and at the same time as the Danes were building the Dannevirke to keep the Christian Franks of Pippin and Charlemagne out of their turf ca 730-760.


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## Yrys (23 Mar 2010)

Staffordshire Hoard saved for the West Midlands, BBC News

The Staffordshire Hoard is to remain in the West Midlands after the £3.3m 
purchase price was met. The Anglo Saxon treasure was found in a field in 
Staffordshire by a metal-detecting enthusiast last July.

A National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) grant of £1.285m has been 
added to money raised by a campaign involving Stoke and Birmingham 
councils. The Memorial Fund grant stops the collection from being divided 
up and sold to private collectors. Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of NHMF, 
said: "The Staffordshire Hoard is an extraordinary heritage treasure. "It is 
exactly the sort of thing the National Heritage Memorial Fund was set up 
to save."

The haul, described as the UK's largest find of Anglo-Saxon treasure, 
comprises 1,600 items including sword pommels, helmet parts and 
processional crosses. In total, it is made up 5kg of gold and 1.3kg of 
silver and is thought to date from the seventh century. Birmingham and 
Stoke-on-Trent city councils and The Art Fund said they had jointly 
donated £500,000 and last month the fund received £50,000 from a 
mystery benefactor.

School children have also been among members of the public who have 
made donations. Now the target has been reached, the NHMF said a 
further extra £1.7m is now needed to ensure the collection can be properly 
conserved, studied and displayed. More than 40,000 visitors saw the haul 
when it went on show at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in September.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Stoke-on-Trent, had to close queues 
to visitors early due to the popularity of the display in February.

*'Overwhelming response'*
The value of the treasure was set by a committee of experts. The money will 
be split between Terry Herbert, 55, of Burntwood, in Staffordshire, who found 
it, and Fred Johnson, who owns the farm where it was discovered. The campaign 
to raise the £3.3m was launched on 13 January by celebrity historian Dr David 
Starkey.

He said: "The Staffordshire Hoard provides us with vital clues to our 
ancient past and now we can set about decoding them. "I'm delighted 
that all the other funding bodies and the generous public have helped 
save these breathtaking treasures for posterity."

Councillor Martin Mullaney, from Birmingham City Council, said: "It is great 
achievement to secure the hoard for the West Midlands Region. "I have been 
overwhelmed by the public response and can't thank enough everyone who has 
given and supported our campaign in helping us bringing the hoard home."

Items are still on display at The Potteries Museum and at the Birmingham Museum 
and Art Gallery until 18 April. Last week, archaeologists announced that another dig 
is to be held at the undisclosed field in Staffordshire. It is not expected to turn up 
any more gold, but could reveal how the original items came to be there, they said.


In pictures: Anglo-Saxon warrior gear
How the hoard is valued (£3.285m)


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