Treasure Hunter that Found Unique Viking hoard to be Awarded £2 Million

Ancient Origins

Derek McLennan, a British metal detectorist who unearthed the richest collection of unique Viking artifacts ever found in the UK will receive an astonishing £2 million (US$2.6m) as a reward. The amount is ex gratia and has been set to reflect the market value of the find.

 Amateur Treasure Hunter About to Receive 2 Million Pounds for his Discovery
Derek McLennan discovered the 10th-century hoard in a Dumfries and Galloway field (one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland) in 2014. The incredibly valuable treasure includes silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, a bird-shaped gold pin, an enameled Christian cross, and a Carolingian vessel filled with artifacts.

McLennan notified the authorities about his valuable finds and now, three years later, the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (the body that rules on ownerless goods and property), has ruled that the one-hundred unique items of the hoard should be held with National Museums Scotland (NMS) for public display, after offering ex gratia to McLennan, the enormous sum.

In contrast with the rest of the UK, where awards are split with the landowner, rules on discoveries in Scotland reward only the finder who receives the whole payment and now NMS has six months to raise the funds. Dr. Evelyn Silber, University of Glasgow’s honorary professorial research fellow in History of Art and Safap chair, told The Guardian, “The panel is grateful to the finder for reporting these stunning artefacts which include decorative glass beads, silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, a bird-shaped gold pin and a highly-decorated gilt vessel recognized as being one of only three known examples. These will now be preserved and put on display for the people of Scotland, and the world, to enjoy.”

The Carolingian vessel filled with artifacts. (Historic Environment Scotland)

 The Discovery of the Hoard
 But how did Derek McLennan end up discovering the richest Viking hoard in British history? Was it pure luck or did he knew something? As April Holloway reports in a 2014 Ancient Origins article, McLennan used a metal detector on Church of Scotland land when he picked up a signal indicating the presence of metal beneath the ground. He dug down some 24 inches (60cm) before finding the first item. As soon as Derek recovered the first arm-ring he realized the significance of his find and contacted the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit. They sent an experienced archaeologist, Andy Nicholson and the hoard was excavated properly.

What’s interesting, however, is that the Church of Scotland, which owns the land where the treasure was found, reached an agreement with McLennan back then about the equitable sharing of any proceeds that he would be awarded and now it’s unknown whether McLennan will honor this agreement with the Church of Scotland, or if he will claim the rules of Scotland as we already mentioned before, which rewards only the finder of the treasure.

Some of the treasures: A silver disk brooch decorated with intertwining snakes or serpents (Historic Scotland), a gold, bird-shaped object which may have been a decorative pin or a manuscript pointer (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland), one of the many arm rings with a runic inscription (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland), a large glass bead (Santiago Arribas Pena), and a hinged silver strap (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland).

Hoard is of International Significance
David Harvie, the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer, described the Galloway hoard as globally remarkable and one of the most important finds ever discovered in Scotland. “I am pleased to announce that I am minded to accept the recommendation of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel [Safap] that these wonderful items be allocated to National Museums Scotland, subject to it meeting the ex gratia award which would then be payable to the finder,” he told The Guardian.

Dr. Gordon Rintoul, director of NMS, appears to be grateful in his statements as The Guardian reports, “The Galloway hoard is of outstanding international significance and we are absolutely delighted that QLTR has decided to allocate it to NMS. We now have six months to raise £1.98m to acquire this unique treasure for the nation and ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations both at home and abroad.”

Additionally, NMS stated that several other finds from the UK and Ireland have been remarkable as well, but the Galloway hoard offers an incredible variety of objects, revealing previously unknown relationships between European nations in the 10th century, a fact that opens new horizons of study and research on the matter.

Top image: Left: Large silver alloy Carolingian vessel, which was part of the hoard. Right: Derek McLennan, the finder of the treasure hoard. Photograph: Jamie Simpson

By Theodoros

Treasures Found Within Very Valuable Viking Hoard Finally Revealed -

Ancient Origins

Around the time the Irish were stamping out the Viking presence in their country, local lore says the Scots and Vikings also fought a battle near Galloway, Scotland. In 2014, a metal detectorist took that legend, swept the area, and discovered a hoard of 100 “strange and wonderful objects” that were about 1,000 years old.

No one knows how the person who buried the hoard came across the spectacular stuff or why it was buried. One can only speculate that perhaps there was a battle, and perhaps the items were buried beforehand or during the course of it in case the one who hid the hoard had to flee.
Conservators are just now releasing images of the Galloway hoard, showing items found in a Carolingian vessel or pot. The pot itself, from Western Europe, is very rare and is one of only six of the type ever found.

The Carolingian vessel. (Historic Environment Scotland)

 “The hoard is the most important Viking discovery in Scotland for over 100 years. The items from within the vessel, which may have been accumulated over a number of generations, reveal objects from across Europe and from other cultures with non-Viking origins,” says a press release from Historic Scotland.

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The items were wrapped in textiles and buried in the pot. The hoard includes:

• Six silver Anglo-Saxon disc brooches dating to around the early 9th century. They are equal to another hoard of similar brooches found in England, the Pentney hoard, which was the largest such hoard found to date. The Pentney hoard is now in the British Musuem.
• A silver penannular brooch of Irish origin. Penannular means it is in the form of an incomplete ring.
• Byzantium silk from around Istanbul.
• A gold ingot
• A large number of silver ingots
• Silver arm rings
• A beautifully preserved cross
• An ornate gold pin in the form of a bird
• Gold and crystal objects wrapped in cloth bundles.

Some of the treasures: A silver disk brooch decorated with intertwining snakes or serpents (Historic Scotland), a gold, bird-shaped object which may have been a decorative pin or a manuscript pointer (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland), one of the many arm rings with a runic inscription (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland), a large glass bead (Santiago Arribas Pena), and a hinged silver strap (Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland).

Of these last, the press release says:

At the moment their purpose remains a mystery. While it’s clear many of the objects collected have a value as precious metal, the nature of the hoard remains a mystery, and includes objects in base metals and glass beads which have no obvious value. The decision about which material to include in the vessel appears to have been based on complex and highly personal notions of how an individual valued an object as much as the bullion value the objects represented.

Conservators have been working to remove the items from the pot and preserve them. They are with Historic Environment Scotland, the Treasure Trove Unit, and the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer.

The Carolingian vessel filled with artifacts. (Historic Environment Scotland)

The process leading up to the extraction was precise yet exciting, according to Richard Welander of Historic Environment Scotland:

Before removing the objects we took the rather unusual measure of having the pot CT scanned, in order that we could get a rough idea of what was in there and best plan the delicate extraction process. That exercise offered us a tantalising glimpse but didn’t prepare me for what was to come. These stunning objects provide us with an unparalleled insight to what was going on in the minds of the Vikings in Galloway all those years ago. They tell us about the sensibilities of the time, reveal displays of regal rivalries, and some of the objects even betray an underlying sense of humour, which the Vikings aren’t always renowned for!

Stuart Campbell of the Treasure Trove Unit says in the press release that the complexity of the hoard raised more questions than it answered, and for years to come scholars and researchers will study the motivations and cultural identity of those who buried it.

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The Treasure Trove Unit will assess its value on behalf of the crown, though the finder, Derek McClennan will be eligible for the market value. (It is estimated to be worth at least £1 million.) Mr. McClennan found the hoard in a Galloway field in September 2014.
The Church of Scotland, which owns the land, has reached an agreement with Mr. McLennan about the equitable sharing of any proceeds that will eventually be awarded. The hoard is now with the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit until it has been fully examined and a decision is made about its future location.

After assessment, the hoard will be offered to Scottish museums. It will go on display in the museum that meets the market value price and buys it.
“Nothing was thrown in the vessel,” Olwyn Owen, an independent Viking scholar in Edinburgh, told National Geographic. The hoard was “wrapped with great care and packed extremely tightly together, and they are such special objects that they were clearly enormously important to their Viking owner. It’s a strange and wonderful selection of objects.”
Featured Image: A finely wrought Carolingian vessel, still encrusted with pieces of textile (Historic Environment Scotland), a gold pendant (Santiago Arribas Pena), and a silver brooch from Ireland. (Santiago Arribas Pena)
By Mark Miller