Vale of York Hoard
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (July 2007) |
The Harrogate hoard is an undisturbed tenth-century Viking hoard discovered in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The hoard is the largest discovered in western Europe since the Cuerdale hoard was found in Lancashire in 1840.[1]
The hoard was discovered in January 2007 by David Whelan, 60, a semi-retired businessman from Leeds, and his son Andrew, 35, a surveyor, who were using metal detectors.[2] The Whelans told BBC News they have been metal detecting as a hobby for about five years.[3]
They found the hoard in a "bare field due to be ploughed for spring sowing"; later the empty field was searched but no evidence of a settlement or structure was found.[2] 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 the first find reported to Cooper).[4] The family 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".[5] The discovery was announced on July 19, 2007. The BM 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 "The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire".[6]
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 (variously identified as a cup, bowl, or pot, made in France or Germany around 900) and buried in a lead chest.[3][4] The silver pot was "lined with gold and engraved with lions and deer" and 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.[4] A rare gold arm ring (possibly from Ireland[4]), 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][3][7]
The hoard had been protected by lead sheeting of some kind, and the first interpretation of the tenth-century occasion for such a careful burying of the hoard for safety was that it had belonged to a wealthy Viking leader during the unrest that followed the conquest of the Viking kingdom of Northumbria in 927 CE by the Anglo-Saxon king of a united England, Athelstan (924-939).[5] 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 Jorvik, 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][4]
Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, examined the artifacts.
At a court hearing in Harrogate on July 19, 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 (US$1.54 million).[3]
References
- ^ a b c Viking treasure find Britain's 'most important' The Herald Sun, July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Treasure hunters share £1m Viking hoard looted from round the world The Guardian, July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Viking treasure hoard uncovered BBC, July 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e British treasure hunters unearth Viking hoard CBC Arts, July 19, 2007.
- ^ a b Most important Viking Treasure in 150 years found by metal detectorists in North Yorkshire British Museum blog
- ^ See e.g. Treasure Trove Inquest spotlights Viking heritage Yorkshire Dales News, July 19, 2007.
- ^ Treasure: Viking coins, jewelry found buried in field The Winston-Salem Journal (via AP), July 20, 2007.
See also
External links
- Viking treasure find Britain's 'most important' - Reuters
- Family discovers Viking treasure - Reuters/CNN
- Most important Viking Treasure in 150 years found by metal detectorists in North Yorkshire - British Museum blog
- British treasure hunters unearth Viking hoard - CBC News
- Viking treasure hoard uncovered - BBC News