Largest Hoard of Anglo – Saxon Gold Found
by The largest Anglo-Saxon hoard of gold ever found was discovered in July 2009 by metal detector enthusiast Terry Herbert. The 1,300 year old treasure was discovered in a field near the town of Burntwood in central England and contained over 1,500 scattered gold and silver artefacts.
A gold artefact depicting two eagles flanking a fish. Image source
Kevin Leahy of the Portable Antiques Scheme, a group that records archaeological artefacts found by amateur enthusiasts in the UK, believes the objects were made by the finest craftsmen the Anglo-Saxons had and the quantity of artefacts found is unusual.
An ornamental stud that would have decorated the sheath of an Anglo-Saxon noble. Image source
The discovery, revealed to the public for the first time on the 24th September, is made up mostly of war related finds that are dated at around 700 AD, a time of almost constant warring in England between rival kingdoms. The Anglo-Saxons came to the island of Britain in the 5th century and began a process of colonisation that led to the birth of England and its language.
A strip of gold with the Biblical inscription in Latin, “Rise up O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee.” Image source
The hoard was found on a farm but the exact location is being kept secret because it is feared that looters will steal from the site. However, it is known that the site is in the heart of the old kingdom of Mercia, which existed between the 6th and 10th centuries, until it was assimilated into the kingdom of England.
A gold sword handle fitting paved with garnets. Image source
Gold sword fittings. Image source
The identity of the person who buried the treasure and his reasons for doing so is still a mystery and its not clear weather the finds are the spoils of a single battle or a collection of a highly successful warrior. Many of the finds have a familiar Anglo-Saxon style of strange animal depictions often interlaced or with their jaws intertwined.
A gold horse’s head, believed to be the crest of a helmet. Image source
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number 4.
Post CommentPatrick Bernauw
On September 27, 2009 at 1:01 pm
This is the stuff the dreams of treasure hunters are made of… Great article!
Joe Dorish
On September 27, 2009 at 1:42 pm
What a great find!
CaSundara
On September 27, 2009 at 3:25 pm
An amazing story. I was reading about it it the paper recently, but their pics were useless – the ones you’ve used are wonderful.
papaleng
On September 28, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Wow! that was a great find.! Thanks for sharing, now I have to make plans…LO>
Debra.
On September 28, 2009 at 2:09 pm
An awesome find!
grammarking
On September 28, 2009 at 2:29 pm
steel =/= steal
Juancav
On September 28, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Great discovery.
MMV Abad
On September 29, 2009 at 5:40 am
Another great dig by Auron Renius. Thank you friend
uahol
On September 29, 2009 at 7:55 am
I dunno, good pictures?
Carla Fiscina
On September 30, 2009 at 3:15 am
What a great discovery! It seems to be a really valuable material for historians, so maybe soon we will learn something new and interesting about ancient civilizations!
Chris Stonecipher
On September 30, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I love archaeology and history articles. Your article is well research and i enjoyed reading it. I found this one on Mixx.
Joshua Miguel
On October 1, 2009 at 9:05 pm
this is a very interesting story. thanks for sharing this.
Jackie118
On October 13, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I read about this in the newspaper – the gold sword handle is the thing that drew me. It’s so intricate – probably not difficult to ‘reproduce’ today with all our machinery, but I could just imagine the skill, hard work and effort that would have gone into it so long ago!!!
DA Cournean
On October 17, 2009 at 10:40 am
Wow!
xoxo
On December 21, 2009 at 10:33 am