Archeologists reveal golden helmet and 90 Anglo-Saxon treasures in stunning SECOND find in a Staffordshire field
- Find of around 90 items is second made at the Lichfield site where the biggest ever find of Anglo-Saxon object was found in 2009
- Could mean another payday for pair who fell out over £3.3million find in 2009
- Items include parts of a helmet and an eagle shaped object
By
Mark Prigg
PUBLISHED:
12:34, 18 December 2012
|
UPDATED:
15:43, 18 December 2012
Around 90 new pieces of gold and
silver have been unearthed in the field where the Staffordshire Hoard of
Anglo-Saxon treasure was found three years ago.
The
fresh discoveries, made in recent weeks at Hammerwich, near Lichfield,
include what is thought to be a part of a helmet and an eagle-shaped
object, Staffordshire County Council said.
Speaking
at a press conference in Stoke-on-Trent, council leader Philip Atkins
confirmed that many of pieces weighed less than a gram.
Newly discovered Anglo Saxon treasure is
unveiled at a press conference at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire today
90 items have so far been found, many extremely small. They include part of a helmet, an eagle and a cross.
THE STAFFORDSHIRE HAUL
The new items were found in the same
field where over 3,900 pieces of gold, silver and some copper alloy
objects were found in 2009.
The first discovery was made by a metal detectorist, who had permission to scan the land.
Archaeologists discovered the largest ever find of Anglo Saxon gold and
silver metal work from this country.
In total the hoard included over 5kg of gold, 1.5kg of silver and thousands of small garnets.
Mr Atkins said: 'The ploughing of the same field has unearthed a small number of other gold and silver finds.
'While it is far too early to say exactly what they are, or how old they are, they are certainly interesting finds.'
South
Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh is expected to rule whether the haul
of 90 items should be declared treasure at an inquest on January 4.
The five hectare field was
examined by a team of archaeologists - who have previously worked on
battlesites at Bosworth and Hastings - once it had been ploughed at the
end of November.
South
Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh will rule at an inquest planned for
January 4 if the metalwork pieces are part of the Anglo Saxon collection
and should be declared treasure.
Staffordshire
County Council Leader Philip Atkins, said: 'The Staffordshire Hoard was
an amazing discovery, and we have been immensely proud to play our part
in helping to discover and tell the story of a collection of such
international importance.
'We will now have to wait for the inquest, to discover if the objects are a significant part of our national history.'
The
new items were found in the same field where over 3,900 pieces of gold,
silver and some copper alloy objects were found in 2009.
The new artefacts have tentatively been dated to
the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time
of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia
The latest find includes parts of a helmet. The team has been using x-ray images to piece together objects they find.
The first discovery was made by a metal detectorist, who had permission to scan the land.
Following
the discovery three years ago, English Heritage immediately recognised
the exceptional significance of the finds and provided emergency funding
at the start of the dig together with continued expert advice, support
and funding for the research and preservation of the Staffordshire
Hoard.
Archaeologists
working with Staffordshire County Council later carried out the
excavation of the field and discovered the largest ever find of Anglo
Saxon gold and silver metal work from this country.
In total the hoard included over 5kg of gold, 1.5kg of silver and thousands of small garnets.
WHAT IS TREASURE?
Treasure is defined by the law as any gold or silver objects, or coins, more than 300 years old which were deliberately hidden.
Under the 1996 Treasure Act, any treasure found in England and Wales belongs to the Crown.
Anyone
who finds what they suspect may be treasure must report it to the local
coroner within 14 days of discovery. If they don't, they risk a
three-month jail sentence or a £5,000 fine.
If
an inquest declares that a find is treasure, it is offered to the
British Museum or a local museum who has it officially valued by an
independent board of antiquities experts.
If they want the find, they must pay the market value of the treasure to the finder and/or landowner.
If they don't, the finder can keep it.
Normally,
any treasure belongs to the landowner. However, a landowner can agree
to split the reward with a metal detector enthusiast.
They include a bishop’s pectoral
cross, a large folded cross, a helmet cheek piece, a filigree seahorse
and numerous sword fittings including hilt plates and pommel caps.
The
pieces appear to date from the seventh century, although there is some
debate among experts as to when the hoard first entered the ground.
The dig was closed when archaeologists were confident they had retrieved everything that was recoverable at the time.
Last
month, a team of archaeologists and experienced metal detectorists from
Archaeology Warwickshire returned to the field when it was ploughed and
recovered further material.
These are currently being examined and x-rayed at a specialist archives laboratory.
After
the Staffordshire Hoard was declared treasure a huge fundraising
campaign was launched to bring the treasure back to the West Midlands.
Today's discovery, circled in red, was made in
the same field where the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of
Anglo Saxon treasure was recovered in 2009
Staffordshire County Archaeologist Stephen Dean
addresses a press conference about newly discovered Anglo Saxon treasure
at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke on Trent,
Staffordshire
The Hoard was valued at £3.3m by independent experts at the British Museum - the most valuable treasure discovery ever made.
The fundraising campaign was led by The Art Fund, and featured a major donation from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, anywhere in the world.
A BUMPER PAYDAY?
The two men who fell out over £3.3million after finding Saxon treasure
could scoop another fortune - after more artefacts were found in the
same field.
Terry Herbert, 57, discovered the ancient gold and silver haul on 68-year-old farmer Fred Johnson's land three years ago.
Their find, dubbed the Staffordshire Hoard, was sold to museums after
becoming an international sensation after the discovery on July 5, 2009
- leaving the men rich.
But the duo fell out over the cash, with Terry claiming Fred wanted it all for himself.
He even said his find of 3,900 artefacts - Britain's largest ever
haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure - was a curse and blamed it on ruining his
friendship with Fred.
But yesterday it emerged the pair, who have not spoken since their
rift, are set to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds more after 90
gold and silver items were unearthed close to the original find.
Experts are currently examining the finds and South Staffordshire
Coroner Andrew Haigh will rule at an inquest on January 4 if the pieces
are part of the Anglo-Saxon collection.
If they are ruled to be from the same collection they will be officially declared treasure before being valued.
The proceeds from the sale of the treasure will then be split between Terry and Fred.
Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, on 5 July 2009, it consists of more than 3,900 items.
The
artefacts have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries,
placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia.
One of the new items of Anglo Saxon treasure being examined by archaeologists. Over 90 small items were discovered.
The artefacts have tentatively been dated to the
7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of
the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and include part of a helmet (shown
here) and an object resembling an eagle.
The find includes what is believed to be part of a cheekguard from a golden helmet
The Staffordshire haul consisted of over 3,500
items that are nearly all martial in character and contains no objects
specific to female uses.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2249941/Stunned-archeologists-reveal-SECOND-Anglo-Saxon-treasure-site-Staffordshire-Haul.html#ixzz2FR9B4eg3
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