More on the Viking Treasure Recently Found in Scotland

Here's another article about the fabulous treasure trove recently found in Scotland that I detailed in a previous post. The pictures certainly depict the richness of this find. (Ed.)

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In Pictures:

Largest Ever Viking Treasure Trove

Discovered by Metal Detectorists in Scotland

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  By Mary-Ann Russon
  October 15, 2014 15:56 BST 

One of the largest and most spectacular Viking treasure hoards ever seen has been found by metal detectorists on Church of Scotland land in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland.

The treasure trove consists of over 100 items including silver ingots, armbands and brooches, as well as some objects made of gold including a well-worn gold ring and a gold bird hair accessory. There is also a separate silver alloy vessel with lid that holds even more items, which has not yet been opened.

A medieval cross made from solid silver has been discovered as part of a Viking treasure hoard found in Scotland(Treasure Trove Unit)

The items are believed to have been buried between ninth and 10^th century AD and include an early medieval cross in solid silver. Some of the items are believed to be Irish in origin, and the metal vessel is Carolingian (from the Kingdom of the Franks, i.e. Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages).

The closed vessel has what looks like the remains of a cloth sack wrapped around it and archaeologists plan to X-ray the vessel before they open it. 

Viking treasure hoard: A silver alloy Carolingian vessel filled with objects and a gold bird hair decoration(Treasure Trove Unit)

"This is a very important and significant find and has required the close cooperation of Historic Scotland with Treasure Trove Unit and National Museums Scotland staff to recover the fascinating items it contains," Stuart Campbell, head of the Treasure Trove Unit, a Scottish government agency overseeing the recovery and assessment of the find told IBTimes UK.

"Due to the quantity and variety of the objects, and the importance of the find overall, it will take some time for experts to assess the hoard as a whole so that we can appreciate its true significance."

Over 100 silver items have been found in the Viking treasure hoard, as well as some gold objects(Treasure Trove Unit)

The treasure was discovered by Derek McLennan, 47, a retired businessman and avid metal detector enthusiast who received permission to search in the area.

He has been praised by the Treasure Trove Unit for his "responsible actions" in reporting his discovery to the authorities as soon as he discovered it in September.

Viking treasure hoard: A close-up of one of the silver items found(Treasure Trove Unit)

"I dragged myself out of my sick bed because I had two friends that wanted to detect and I'm a bit of an obsessive," McLennan told BBC News.

"I unearthed the first piece, initially I didn't understand what I had found because I thought it was a silver spoon and then I turned it over and wiped my thumb across it and I saw the Saltire-type of design and knew instantly it was Viking.

"Then my senses exploded, I went into shock, endorphins flooded my system and away I went stumbling towards my colleagues waving it in the air."

Dumfries and Galloway Council archaeologists carefully excavated the hoard(Treasure Trove Unit)

The Treasure Trove Unit says that the find is really significant due to the range of items discovered, and could have been buried for safekeeping, as the area in Scotland where the treasure was found was a Viking area inhabited by Norse people.

"It's clear that these artefacts are of great value in themselves, but their greatest value will be in what they can contribute to our understanding of life in early medieval Scotland, and what they tell us about the interaction between the different peoples in these islands at that time," said Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs.

"The Dumfries hoard opens a fascinating window on a formative period in the story of Scotland and just goes to show how important our archaeological heritage in Scotland continues to be."

The Norse: An Arctic Mystery

I am a huge fan of Dr. Patricia Sutherland. She has worked hard for years to substantiate a Norse presence with the natives of the Dorset Culture of Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic. Her theories regarding the archaeology of the Tanfield Valley site fly in the face of conventional Canadian Arctic archaeology, no doubt the reason she was fired from the Canadian Museum of Civilization. She is proving her theories and the elite of Canadian archaeology can't stand the fact that all the books that have been written on the subject of the Norse presence in pre-historical Canada are not only flawed, their contentions are wrong for the most part. Here's to you, Dr. Sutherland. (Ed.)

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The Norse: An Arctic Mystery

Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 8 PM on CBC-TV

Buried under the tundra on a windy cape of Baffin Island lies one of the most important archeological finds in Canada. An untrained eye would miss it—but not scientist Pat Sutherland. Her new work here at the place they call Nanook will likely change history.

Pat Sutherland working on Baffin Island
Listen to an interview with Pat Sutherland on As It Happens.

Dr. Sutherland has been working on the archeology of the Arctic for more than 30 years. Her expertise is the ancient native people who lived there. But along the way she started finding artifacts that didn't fit—pieces that weren't made by indigenous hands, but by Norse traders, possibly as far back as a thousand years ago.

Is it possible that someone was here from the other side of the Atlantic, centuries before the arrival of Columbus or Cabot? Is it possible that this is the site of first contact between native North Americans and Europeans?

The new documentary film THE NORSE: AN ARCTIC MYSTERY follows Sutherland on her journey to prove that the early history between North America and Europe did not unfold the way the history books say it did.

The Ottar, a Norse shipping vessal.

"The Norse were here over a long period of time, and they had business to do," says Sutherland. The dig at the Nanook site has revealed signs of a structure—stone walls marking out the shape of an trading post—possibly the first European building this side of the Atlantic.

"It certainly substantiates that there were Europeans on the site," says Sutherland, "no question about that."

THE NORSE: AN ARCTIC MYSTERY follows Sutherland from the south shore Baffin Island to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, the departure point for Norse sailing west, searching for trade goods like ivory and furs across the North Atlantic to Canada. In Denmark a crew of latter-day Vikings lifts the sails on a reproduction of an ocean-going ship. And in Ottawa Sutherland gets down to the hard science—using state of the art technology to unlock the hardest kept secrets of Norse arrival on Baffin Island. 

"I think we've only just begun to delve into what the Norse were doing there," says Sutherland, "and we've just got the beginning of the story."

In the spring of 2012, Dr. Pat Sutherland was dismissed from the Canadian Museum of Civilization after working there for 30 years. She was most recently the curator of Arctic Archeology. Dr. Sutherland is contesting the dismissal through her union, so she can regain access to her research. Currently the Helluland Project has been suspended.

THE NORSE: AN ARCTIC MYSTERY is produced by 90th Parallel Productions in Toronto. Gordon Henderson is Executive Producer. THE NORSE: AN ARCTIC MYSTERY is produced, written and directed by Andrew Gregg.  

Viking Treasure Haul in UK Biggest Ever

This is huge, people. I applaud McLennan; it must be a heady time for him - good on 'im!  I sincerely hope the man gets moderately rich for the perseverance that netted the rest of us the opportunity to see a treasure this rich and beautiful. I hoist my daily evening Martini to you Derek, well -done, Son. (Ed.)

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2790197/metal-detectorist-finds-britain-s-biggest-haul-viking-treasure-hundreds-artefacts-including-ancient-silver-cross.html

Metal detectorist finds Britain's biggest ever haul of Viking treasure - with hundreds of artefacts including an ancient silver cross 

Location searched by enthusiast Derek McLennan for a year without success

Locale is not being identified by the Church of Scotland which owns land

Derek McLennan speechless when he made discovery in early September

Hoard includes possibly the largest silver pot from Carolingian dynasty discovered and could be up to 1,200-years-old

By PAUL DONNELLEY FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 15:49 EST, 12 October 2014 | UPDATED: 01:36 EST, 13 October 2014

The largest haul of Viking treasure ever found in Britain has been unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast, it was revealed today.

The discovery was found on Church of Scotland land after the detectorist painstakingly searched the unidentified area in Dumfries and Galloway for more than a year.

The hoard, which consists of more than a hundred artefacts, many of which are historically unique, is now under the care of the Treasure Trove Unit and is regarded as being of significant international importance.

Scroll down for video 

An early medieval cross is among the largest hoard of Viking treasure found in the United Kingdom at an undisclosed location on land owned by the Church of Scotland. The cross is engraved with decorations that, experts say, are highly unusual, which finder Derek McLennan believes may represent the four Gospels

The hoard also includes a complete metal vessel containing more objects. It has not yet been emptied and the first step will be to examine its contents by X-ray

Finder Derek McLennan, 47, was left speechless when he made the discovery in early September and was so emotional that when he called his wife she thought that he had been in a car accident.

Within the find is an early Christian solid silver cross, thought to date from the Ninth or Tenth centuries.

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The treasure hoard includes possibly the largest silver pot from the Carolingian dynasty discovered and could be up to 1,200-years-old.

The cross is engraved with decorations that, experts say, are highly unusual, which Mr McLennan believes may represent the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Mr McLennan said: 'I believe they resemble the carvings you can see on the remnants of St Cuthbert's coffin in Durham Cathedral.

'For me, the cross opens up the possibility of an intriguing connection with Lindisfarne and Iona.'

It was found amongst dozens of silver arm-rings and ingots two feet below the surface, deeper than his detector was thought to reach.

Metal detector enthusiast Derek McLennan has helped to uncover a hoard of medieval and Viking treasures including this golden pin, which has lain buried for centuries in a Scottish churchyard

The excavation was undertaken by Andrew Nicholson, the county archaeologist, and, shortly after, Mr McLennan found a second signal at its base.

Further investigations uncovered a second level trove which is of considerably higher quality than the first.

It includes possibly the largest silver pot from the Carolingian dynasty discovered and could be up to 1,200-years-old.

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The oval shape of this gold ring suggests it had been worn. It was found by Derek McLennan at an unnamed area in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

The pot appears to have been at least a hundred years old when it was first buried in the mid-Ninth or Tenth centuries.

Mr McLennan said: 'We still don't know exactly what is in the pot, but I hope it could reveal who these artefacts belonged to, or at least where they came from.'

He made the discovery in early September while out with two local ministers who are also keen detectorists, Rev Dr David Bartholomew, a Church of Scotland minister of a rural Galloway charge, and Mike Smith, the pastor of an Elim Pentecostal Church in Galloway.

Rev Dr Bartholomew said: 'We were searching elsewhere when Derek initially thought he'd discovered a Viking gaming piece.

'A short time later he ran over to us waving a silver arm-ring and shouting 'Viking'.

'It was tremendously exciting, especially when we noticed the silver cross lying face-downwards.

'It was poking out from under the pile of silver ingots and decorated arm-rings, with a finely wound silver chain still attached to it.How to use a metal detector to uncover a hidden bounty

An archaeologist prepares the top level hoard for removal. The historically significant find was made by Derek McLennan, a committed metal detector enthusiast who has been searching around the area in Dumfries and Galloway for the last year 

'It was a heart-stopping moment when the local archaeologist turned it over to reveal rich decoration on the other side.'

Mr McLennan is no stranger to finding treasure, having been part of a group which discovered more than 300 medieval silver coins shortly before Christmas last year.

Scotland's Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said of the latest find: 'The Vikings were well known for having raided these shores in the past, but today we can appreciate what they have left behind, with this wonderful addition to Scotland's cultural heritage.

'It's clear that these artefacts are of great value in themselves, but their greatest value will be in what they can contribute to our understanding of life in early medieval Scotland, and what they tell us about the interaction between the different peoples in these islands at that time.

'The Dumfries hoard opens a fascinating window on a formative period in the story of Scotland and just goes to show how important our archaeological heritage in Scotland continues to be.'

Under Scots common law for rediscovered relics the hoard is currently in the care of the Treasure Trove Unit.

Treasure hunter Derek McLennan who spent a year searching the unidentified location in Dumfries and Galloway before stumbling on the treasure trove in September

An agreement between the landowners - the Church of Scotland General Trustees – and Mr McLennan - has been reached for an appropriate finder's fee.

One of the most significant Viking hoards ever discovered in Scotland 

Secretary to the General Trustees, David Robertson, said: 'We are very excited to have been part of such an historic find and we commend Derek for the spirit in which he has worked with us and the other agencies involved in making sure everything is properly registered and accounted for.

'Any money arising from this will first and foremost be used for the good of the local parish. We recognise Derek is very responsible in pursuing his interest, but we do not encourage metal detecting on Church land unless detailed arrangements have been agreed beforehand with the General Trustees.'

The exact location of the find is being kept secret, and the Scottish Government, Treasure Trove Unit, and Historic Scotland are all working to preserve the site while its full significance is being determined.

Experts at the unit described the find as 'one of the most significant Viking hoards ever discovered in Scotland'.

Stuart Campbell, the head of the Treasure Trove Unit, who is overseeing assessment of the hoard, said: 'This is a very important and significant find and has required the close cooperation of Historic Scotland with Treasure Trove Unit and National Museums Scotland staff to recover the fascinating items it contains.

'Due to the quantity and variety of the objects, and the importance of the find overall, it will take some time for experts to assess the hoard as a whole so that we can appreciate its true significance. We look forward to learning more.'

All the objects will now undergo extensive conservation work in order to determine more about their individual historical significance.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2790197/metal-detectorist-finds-britain-s-biggest-haul-viking-treasure-hundreds-artefacts-including-ancient-silver-cross.html#ixzz3GFoBjCtB 

Medieval Vikings

I have nothing, so far, this week on Viking archaeology, so how about a dose of self-promotion in lieu of? (Ed.)

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http://www.vinlandpublishing.com

L 'anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, CA-2004