Harrogate deposit found

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Coins and bars from the Harrogate depository
Harrogate Depot Fund Cup

The Vale of York Hoard (including Vale of York Hoard ) is an undisturbed found dead Vikings - hoard of 617 silver coins, 64 other silver objects, a gold ring and a silver container. The find was made by hobby treasure hunters in 2007 with the help of metal detectors in a field near the English town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire , England . This area was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria at the time the depot was closed in the 10th century . The discovery was the largest Viking Age treasure found in Britain since the Cuerdale depository discovery in 1840.

discovery

Silver coins from the find

Andrew and David Whelan searched - as they have for years - a fallow field with detectors. During the subsequent excavation, they found a filled silver container at a depth of 40 centimeters. They reported the find to the responsible conservationists , who turned the British Museum on. The scientists were able to examine the find in context. Follow-up examinations were carried out at the site at a later date. The researchers could not find any traces of settlement or development.

On July 19, 2007 the British Museum issued a press release:

"The size and quality of the hoard is remarkable, making it the most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years"
“The find is of global importance, as well as having huge significance for the history of North Yorkshire”.

It was decided that the fund fell under the Treasure Act of 1996, which states that a custody fund must be offered to museums. Half of the proceeds go to the finder (s) and the landowner. Previous estimates put the value of the hoard of at least 750,000 £ from.

Finds

Bracelets, chokers, brooches and fragments from the hoard

The deposit contained 617 silver coins as well as 64 other items, such as bars and previously unspecified metal objects , all in a gold-plated silver container that was interpreted as a cup, bowl or pot. Northern France or Germany and an origin around 900 AD are suspected as possible places of origin of the container. It is decorated with stylized vines, leaves and six hunting scenes with lions, deer and a horse. It is likely to be a sacral vessel captured from a monastery or church.

A rare gold bracelet (possibly from Ireland) and hacked silver were also found. Among the coins were those with Islamic , Christian and pre-Christian, Old Norse pagan symbols. Interestingly, there were also mixtures between Christian and pagan symbols that cast a significant light on the world of the gods of the Vikings who had just become Christianized. A coin from Cologne - minted between 900 and 911 - shows three small incisions. Apparently this was used to check the authenticity of the coin.

interpretation

Based on the coins found, the hoard can be dated to the year 927/928. The Niederleger was arguably an influential Viking leader during the riots that followed the conquest of Northumbria in 927 by the Anglo-Saxon Æthelstan (924-939).

Objects were found from areas that were sometimes very distant, such as Samarkand (today Uzbekistan ), North Africa , Afghanistan , Russia , Ireland , Scandinavia , and continental Europe, "which documents the vastness of the Vikings' journeys and relationships at that time".

literature

Web links

Commons : Harrogate depository  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Maev Kennedy, Martin Wainwright: Treasure hunters share £ 1m Viking hoard looted from round the world , The Guardian . July 20, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2009. 
  2. ↑ a b Treasure Trove Inquest spotlights Viking heritage . In: Yorkshire Dales News . Daelnet. July 19, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b c d Viking treasure hoard uncovered , BBC . July 19, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2009. 
  4. ↑ a b c d British treasure hunters unearth Viking hoard . In: CBC Arts , CBC , July 19, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2009.