Metal detectorist finds Britain’s biggest ever haul of Viking treasure - with hundreds of artefacts including an ancient silver cross
2014-10-13 0:00
From: Daily Mail
"One of the most significant Viking hoards ever discovered in Scotland"
The largest haul of Viking treasure ever found in Britain has been
unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast, it was revealed today.
The discovery was found on Church of Scotland land after the detectorist painstakingly searched the unidentified area in Dumfries and Galloway for more than a year.
The hoard, which consists of more than a hundred artefacts, many of which are historically unique, is now under the care of the Treasure Trove Unit and is regarded as being of significant international importance.
An early medieval cross is among the largest hoard of Viking treasure found in the United Kingdom at an undisclosed location on land owned by the Church of Scotland. The cross is engraved with decorations that, experts say, are highly unusual, which finder Derek McLennan believes may represent the four Gospels
The hoard also includes a complete metal vessel containing more objects. It has not yet been emptied and the first step will be to examine its contents by X-ray.
Finder Derek McLennan, 47, was left speechless when he made the discovery in early September and was so emotional that when he called his wife she thought that he had been in a car accident.
Within the find is an early Christian solid silver cross, thought to date from the Ninth or Tenth centuries.
The treasure hoard includes possibly the largest silver pot from the Carolingian dynasty discovered and could be up to 1,200-years-old.
The cross is engraved with decorations that, experts say, are highly unusual, which Mr McLennan believes may represent the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Mr McLennan said: "I believe they resemble the carvings you can see on the remnants of St Cuthbert’s coffin in Durham Cathedral".
"For me, the cross opens up the possibility of an intriguing connection with Lindisfarne and Iona."
It was found amongst dozens of silver arm-rings and ingots two feet below the surface, deeper than his detector was thought to reach.
Metal detector enthusiast Derek McLennan has helped to uncover a hoard of medieval and Viking treasures including this golden pin, which has lain buried for centuries in a Scottish churchyard
The excavation was undertaken by Andrew Nicholson, the county archaeologist, and, shortly after, Mr McLennan found a second signal at its base.
Further investigations uncovered a second level trove which is of considerably higher quality than the first.
It includes possibly the largest silver pot from the Carolingian dynasty discovered and could be up to 1,200-years-old.
The oval shape of this gold ring suggests it had been worn. It was found by Derek McLennan at an unnamed area in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
The pot appears to have been at least a hundred years old when it was first buried in the mid-Ninth or Tenth centuries.
Mr McLennan said: "We still don’t know exactly what is in the pot, but I hope it could reveal who these artefacts belonged to, or at least where they came from."
He made the discovery in early September while out with two local ministers who are also keen detectorists, Rev Dr David Bartholomew, a Church of Scotland minister of a rural Galloway charge, and Mike Smith, the pastor of an Elim Pentecostal Church in Galloway.
Rev Dr Bartholomew said: ’We were searching elsewhere when Derek initially thought he’d discovered a Viking gaming piece.
"A short time later he ran over to us waving a silver arm-ring and shouting "Viking".
"It was tremendously exciting, especially when we noticed the silver cross lying face-downwards."
"It was poking out from under the pile of silver ingots and decorated arm-rings, with a finely wound silver chain still attached to it."
An archaeologist prepares the top level hoard for removal. The historically significant find was made by Derek McLennan, a committed metal detector enthusiast who has been searching around the area in Dumfries and Galloway for the last year
Read the rest: Daily Mail
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