27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Secrets of the Galloway Hoard Revealed

Experts have uncovered fascinating secrets of a Viking Age hoard discovered by a metal detector to be presented to the public. A 10th-century treasure of over 100 items including gold, silver, jewelry, a rare Anglo-Saxon cross, and textiles, was found in a field in Dumfries and Galloway in 2014 and acquired by National Museums Scotland (NMS) in 2017.

The 3D model obtained through X-ray imaging allowed the researchers to see beneath the textiles that had been hidden for more than 1,000 years, thereby glimpsing the decorative surface of the vessel decorated with leopards, tigers, and Zoroastrian fire altars.

The ornamentation indicated that the metalwork is from Central Asia rather than the Carolingian (Holy Roman) Empire, as predicted, and radiocarbon analysis of the wool wrapping dates it to AD 680-780, predating the Viking period by up to 200 years.

Dr Martin Goldberg, principal curator of medieval archaeology and history at NMS, said: “This is only the third silver-gilt and decorated vessel to be found as part of a Viking-age hoard in the UK, and so we might have expected it to be like the other two.

“However, the 3D model reveals that the vessel is not from the Carolingian (Holy Roman) Empire of continental Europe as we’d expected based on other similar examples. Instead, the decoration and design suggests that it is a piece of Central Asian metalwork from halfway round the known world.

Viking age hoard. Photo: National Museums Scotland/PA
Viking age hoard. Photo: National Museums Scotland/PA

“What was revealed was decoration that is unlike the other two, they were made in a Christian context in the Carolingian empire probably sometime in the 9th century AD.

“Our vessel has non-Christian symbolism on it and in particular there is a central icon which is a Zoroastrian fire altar and Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sasanian empire, which is much further to the east in central

Asia, what was Persia and is modern day Iran, and there are leopards and tigers in the vegetation on the vessel and the whole thing just has a much different symbolism.

viking hoard
Viking age hoard. Photo: National Museums Scotland/PA

“It was quite a surprise, it’s really opened up that international picture.”< Dr Chris Breward, director of NMS, described the hoard as “probably the most significant find from the period of the Vikings in Britain or Ireland that we know of”.

The exhibition, which opens on Saturday, demonstrates how the trove was buried in four separate parcels: two of silver bullion and one consisting of a cluster of four lavishly designed silver “ribbon” arm-rings linked together and covering a little wooden box holding three gold pieces.

Galloway Hoard
National Museums Scotland/PA

The final parcel was a lidded, silver-gilt vase covered in layers of cloth and stuffed with expertly wrapped artifacts that looked like antiquities or heirlooms. They include beads, pendants, brooches, bracelets, and elaborate belt-set, a rock crystal jar, and other curios, often strung or wrapped with silk, as well as two mysterious balls of dirt containing tiny specks of gold.

It is unknown why the treasure, which contained artifacts belonging to four different owners, was buried, however, they were often concealed by persons under fear or stress in the goal of subsequently reclaiming them.

Research into the hoard, found by metal detectorist Derek McLennan, continues through a £1 million project led by NMS in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

The exhibition Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure will be open at NMS in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, until September 12 when it will then tour to Kirkcudbright Galleries and Aberdeen Art Gallery.

National Museums Scotland

Related Articles

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

30 March 2023

30 March 2023

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore,...

Offerings to goddess Demeter uncovered in archaic temple on Crete island, Greek

17 November 2022

17 November 2022

Nestled between two mountain peaks overlooking the harbor, excavations in the ancient city of Phalasarna revealed hundreds of offerings to...

The discovery that surprised archaeologists; a Rare glass cup adorning the table of rich Romans in Crimea

2 April 2022

2 April 2022

A discovery made in Frontovoye-3 necropolis in Crimea shows that during the Roman Empire there were more centers of glass...

Incredible Mayan Inventions and Achievements

31 July 2022

31 July 2022

The Mayans excelled at agriculture, pottery, writing, calendars, and arithmetic, leaving an incredible quantity of spectacular architecture and symbolic artwork...

An archaeological dig at Govan Old Churchyard revealed a remarkable new find: an early medieval ‘Govan Warrior’ stone

19 September 2023

19 September 2023

An archaeological excavation in the churchyard at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, a port city on the River Clyde...

More than 100 bronze mirrors found at Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound in Japan

3 October 2023

3 October 2023

Archaeologists in Japan have unearthed more than 100 ancient bronze mirrors from the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound in Sakurai, Nara...

3 mummified skeletons were found in Iznik, western Turkey

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists discovered mummified skeletons dating from the 2nd century A.D. within two sarcophagi at the Hisardere Necropolis in Bursa’s Iznik...

Stonehenge could be a solar calendar, according to a new study

2 March 2022

2 March 2022

A new study posits that the Stonehenge circles served as a calendar that tracks the solar year of 365.25 days,...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

Archaeologists Uncover Asini’s Hidden Ancient Port Beneath the Waves of Greece

11 March 2025

11 March 2025

An international team of underwater archaeologists has made a groundbreaking discovery at the submerged site of Asini, near Tolo in...

Zeugma of the Black Sea to be will Restore

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hadrianaupolis Antique City is located 3 km west of Eskiyapar district of Karabük. This ancient city has been known as...

“Urartian Royal garbage dump” was found during excavations at Ayanis Castle

3 September 2022

3 September 2022

During the excavations carried out in the Ayanis Castle, which was built by the Urartian King Rusa II on the...

Exciting Discovery of oldest English coin in Canada

16 November 2022

16 November 2022

A gold coin found on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost province, may be the oldest known English coin...

Severe drought in Italy unearths remains of an ancient bridge in Rome

15 July 2022

15 July 2022

Continued severe heat in Italy has uncovered an archaeological treasure in Rome: a bridge reportedly built by the Roman emperor...

Infinite Embrace: New research sheds light on Bronze Age family relationships that link Britain to Luxembourg

30 January 2024

30 January 2024

A new study of early Bronze Age examples from Luxembourg and Britain, led by researchers from the universities of Mainz...