Harrogate hoard

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The Harrogate hoard is an undisturbed 10th century Viking hoard of over 617 silver coins and other items. The hoard was discovered in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The hoard is the largest discovered in western Europe since 1840, when the Cuerdale hoard was found in Lancashire.[1]

[edit] Discovery

On 6 January 2007, David Whelan, a semi-retired businessman from Leeds, and his son Andrew, a surveyor, discovered the Harrogate hoard using metal detectors.[2][3] The Whelans told BBC News they have been metal detecting as a hobby for about five years.[4]

They found the hoard in an empty field that had not yet been ploughed for spring sowing. Later the empty field was searched but no evidence of a settlement or structure was found.[3] About 30 cm underneath the soil the Whelans found a silver bowl and could see coins and scraps of silver. The Whelans reported the find to Amy Cooper, Finds Liaison Officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (this was one of the first finds reported to Cooper).[5] The pair was commended for displaying "exemplary behaviour in not unpacking all the objects from the bowl, but keeping the find intact." The hoard was transferred to the British Museum, where conservators excavated each find to preserve the objects and "contextual information."[6] The discovery was announced on 19 July 2007. The British Museum press release stated, "The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years," and also said, "The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire".[7]

At a court hearing in Harrogate on 19 July, the hoard was classified as a Treasure by North Yorkshire coroner Geoff Fell under the Treasure Act 1996 (which requires the find to be offered for sale to museums, with the proceeds divided by agreement between the discoverers and the landowner). The find will be valued by the Independent Treasure Valuation Committee for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Whelans were quoted as saying that a conservative estimate for the value of the hoard was about £750,000.[4]

[edit] Items

The hoard includes over 617 silver coins and 65 other items, including ornaments, ingots and precious metal, which were hidden in a gilt silver vessel lined with gold (variously identified as a cup, bowl, or pot) made in France or Germany around 900 and decorated with "vines, leaves and six hunting scenes showing lions, stags, and a horse".[8] The vessel is thought to have been used to hold communion bread for a wealthy church or monastery in northern France, and acquired either in a Viking raid or as tribute.[5] The vessel was buried in a lead chest. [4][5]

A rare gold arm ring (possibly from Ireland[5]), and hacksilver (fragments of cut metal sometimes used as currency) were also found. Reports indicate that the coins bear Islamic, Christian, and pre-Christian Norse pagan symbols: "some of the coins mixed Christian and pagan imagery, shedding light on the beliefs of newly Christianized Vikings."[1][4][2]

The hoard had been protected by lead sheeting of some kind, and the first theory as to the tenth-century occasion for such a careful burying of the hoard was that it had belonged to a wealthy Viking leader during the unrest that followed the conquest of the Viking kingdom of Northumbria in the year 927 by the Anglo-Saxon king of a unified England, Athelstan (924–939).[6] Another brief period of Viking rule in Northumbria followed Athelstan’s death in 939; it lasted until the expulsion and murder of the Viking king of Jórvík (modern-day York), Eric Bloodaxe, in 954.

The hoard included objects from many diverse locations, including Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, North Africa, Afghanistan, Russia, Ireland, Scandinavia, and continental Europe, "illustrating the breadth of the Vikings' travels and trade connections."[1][5]

Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, examined the artifacts.

See also: Mildenhall Treasure

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Viking treasure find Britain's 'most important'", Herald Sun, 2007-07-20. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  2. ^ a b "Treasure: Viking coins, jewelry found buried in field", Associated Press, 2007-07-20. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  3. ^ a b Kennedy, Maev; Martin Wainwright. "Treasure hunters share £1m Viking hoard looted from round the world", The Guardian, 2007-07-20. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Viking treasure hoard uncovered", BBC, 2007-07-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  5. ^ a b c d e "British treasure hunters unearth Viking hoard", CBC Arts, CBC, 2007-07-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  6. ^ a b Pett, Daniel (2007-07-19). Most important Viking Treasure in 150 years found by metal detectorists in North Yorkshire. Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  7. ^ Treasure Trove Inquest spotlights Viking heritage. Yorkshire Dales News. Daelnet (2007-07-19). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Nigel. "Viking find could net pair £500,000", telegraph.co.uk, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.