Anglo-Saxon hoard found in Staffordshire
Sep 25th, 2009
From the Telegraph: Anglo-Saxon hoard is ‘unprecedented’.
The Staffordshire Hoard is by some distance the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, in terms of both the number of items (over 1,300) and the total mass (around 5kg of gold, and 1.3kg of silver).
The majority of the finds are fragments of decorative fittings from swords or helmets, all of high quality, reflecting the high status of the original owners.
Even a single new find of this type is highly significant, and to find so many objects together is unprecedented. As a group, the hoard will add massively to our understanding of the metalwork of the period, and will allow archaeologists to re-evaluate the significance of existing material. [continue]
Thanks to Cynthia for telling me about this photo gallery of the hoard on the CBC website.
How many people in England do you suppose went out to buy metal detectors when they read this story?
You were totally the first person I thought of when I first heard of this find. :)
An even better collection of images is on flickr (search for a set called “The Staffordshire Hoard” if the URL below is disallowed).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finds/sets/72157622378376316/
And I, too, thought of this blog as soon as I spotted the story.