| Christine | Farmer |

Yesterday I went to look at some of the finds from the recently-discovered ‘Staffordshire Hoard’, which are currently on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The hoard is Anglo-Saxon in date, around 700 AD., and was discovered just a few months ago on farmland by Terry Herbert, a man using a metal detector. One of the most important archaeological finds of recent years, it is on display for just a few weeks at the museum, so despite a three-hour queue I really felt I had to go and see the exhibition.

Pages from the brief exhibition guide:

The hoard weighed over 5Kg., and comprises over 1,500 gold items mainly related to weaponry, including sword hilts and dagger pommels. However, the five cases of finds on display give more of an impression of a fine jeweller’s than an armoury. Each tiny sparkling item is lit with small spotlights, and some are viewable through magnifying glasses. The workmanship displayed is quite breathtaking, with the finest filigree, inlay work and amazingly detailed zoomorphic and abstract designs. The work is so fine that it is not readily appreciable unless you are really quite up close, which makes one think of the admiration the original owners must have had for this detailed work. The tiny scale of the pieces is not obvious in any of the published photographs I had seen before I made the visit, which are of course enlarged in order to illustrate the designs. However, I’ve now seen some of the videos of the recovery taking place and the scale is much more apparent in these (see link below).

The finds on display, while including some of the well-publicised items - the cross, the Biblical inscription - are only a small percentage of the whole, and I can quite understand the emotional reaction of those who first came into contact with the find. I can only imagine the impact of the entirety, and wonder how it will all look once it is properly cleaned of the Staffordshire earth which clings to most of the pieces. The display continues at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until the 13th October, with special late openings (see previous link for details). I would imagine that the queues are shorter during the week, or if you get there early on a weekend (I arrived after lunch on Sunday).

The Staffordshire Hoard website, which has lots of pictures, information and videos, including this amazing video of pieces being recovered from the soil: BUFAU video.

Staffordshire Hoard Appeal just launched, to help pay for acquisition and care for the hoard.

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