One of the biggest troves of Viking artifacts in modern history dating back over 1,000 years has been discovered in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, by an amateur treasure hunter.
Derek McLennan, a 47-year-old retired businessman, made the discovery last month using a metal detector. The haul of more than 100 objects included armbands, gold rings and an Early Medieval cross. The artifacts have been dated to the ninth century and earlier, and are believed to be worth over $1 million, Scotland Now reports.
The Vikings, of Scandinavian origin, made successive raids on Britain from the 8th to the 11th centuries, burying their valuables for safekeeping, which have gradually been discovered by generations of treasure seekers.
A 10th-century Viking hoard was found in 2007 in northern England, while in 1840 over 8,600 items were found in northwest England.
The latest find, also containing a rare silver cup engraved with animals which dates from the Holy Roman Empire, and a gold bird pin, is the largest to be found in Scotland since 1891.
Images courtesy of Treasure Trove Scotland via Facebook.
2 Comments
Steve Jennings
cool
Picquet
Excellent. I hope it goes straight to a museum, and not some ‘private collector’.