The intricate decoration of an ancient Anglo-Saxon silver cross buried for over a millennium has been revealed for the first time, adding more details to one of Britain’s most notable archaeological finds.
The cross, decorated with black niello and gold leaf, features engravings depicting each of the gospel writers.
The Galloway Hoard is regarded as one of the richest and most significant Viking object discoveries ever found in the UK. Next to the cross were rare silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, and a gold bird-shaped pin.
The whole treasure, which was discovered in 2014. Credit: Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
“The pectoral cross, with its subtle decoration of evangelical symbols and foliage, inlaid with shiny gold and black, and its delicately coiled chain, is a prominent example of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing art,” Leslie Webster, former Keeper of Britain, Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, said in a statement.
The cross was made in Northumbria (what is now northern England and southern Scotland) in the 9th century for a high-ranking clergyman, Webster added.
Similar Anglo-Saxon crosses are exceptionally rare, Webster said; the only other known example comes from the ninth century, but is much less elaborate.
The Galloway Hoard was the subject of a $ 2.5 million lawsuit by the Church of Scotland last year, and the church claimed it was entitled to a portion of the treasure since it was discovered. in their land.
He had been found by retired businessman and detector Derek McLennan in a camp in the Dumfries and Galloway region of western Scotland.
Cross it before cleaning it. Credit: Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
“Initially I didn’t understand what I had found because I thought it was a silver spoon and then I turned it over and ran a finger through my thumb and saw the Saltire type design and I knew instantly it was a Viking.” said McLennan. the BBC at the time of the discovery.
The cross, along with other parts of the collection, will be on display in Scotland from February.
“Conservation work allows us to see this object clearly for the first time in more than a thousand years, but it also reveals a whole new set of questions,” said Martin Goldberg, chief curator of the National’s Viking and Early Collections. Museums Scotland, in a statement.
Detail on one of the arms of the restored cross. Credit: Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
“Was it also ingots intended to melt into the types of ingots he encountered? We can easily imagine that this cross was stolen from a Christian clergyman during a raid on a church, a classic stereotype of the Viking Age.” He said. “But the complexity of this treasure forces us to reconsider simple stereotypes.”
The findings are relics of a period that saw the creation of separate political entities we now know as Scotland, England and Ireland, said National Museums Scotland.