The Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in July of 2009 by
Terry Herbert who had asked for permission to search a farmer’s field with his
metal detector. The field had only recently been ploughed and also other people
had searched it only a little while ago but Mr Herbert was keen to give it a
try.
The results were amazing!
Over a period of 5 days Mr Herbert recovered an enormous
amount of gold and silver articles. He realised that there was too much for one
person so he contacted the authorities and handed over his finds, and the
responsibility that went with them, to the professionals.
A thorough exaction was carried out by Birmingham
Archaeology with the approval of the land owner, Mr Fred Johnson. Over 3000
pieces were eventually recovered. The scale of the find and the variety of the
pieces has captivated the imaginations of the public and the academics ever
since.
It is not just the amount of precious metal and gemstones that
is included in the treasure-trove, it is the high standard of the craftsmanship
evident in many of the individual pieces. The period of Anglo-Saxon Britain was
for so long presented to the public as the ‘Dark Ages’ where very little was
known until England was once again civilised by the Norman Conquest. However,
there has always been those who have fought against this representation,
pointing to works like Beowulf that hint at a culture much richer than post
Norman England tended to acknowledge. The Staffordshire Hoard repays their
conviction.
Words cannot do the items justice, the old adage ‘a picture worth
a thousand words’ is true so instead of me trying to describe this beauty you
can visit the official website here http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/ and
see this wonder for yourself.
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