My £2m pot of gold
Treasure hunter scoops fortune as museum gets Viking hoard
‘International significance’
TRUDGING across windswept fields and beaches with only the occasional beep to break the silence may not sound the most glamorous of hobbies.
But for Derek McLennan, metal detecting has proved the key to a millionaire’s lifestyle after he uncovered the most valuable haul of ancient artefacts ever found in Scotland.
Mr McLennan, 50, unearthed the extensive collection of Viking relics in a field in Dumfries and Galloway three years ago.
The collection, which includes silver bracelets and brooches, a gold ring, an enamelled Christian cross and a bird-shaped gold pin, has been described as ‘one of the most important’ ever found. Now, on top of the plaudits he received for making the ‘internationally significant’ discovery, Mr McLennan is to receive a record-breaking reward of almost £2million.
Mr McLennan, from Hollybush, Ayr, passed the items on to the Crown’s Treasure Trove Unit after finding them while searching alongside two Kirk ministers on a field owned by the Church of Scotland in 2014.
They unearthed dozens more 10th century Viking relics, including a priceless silver pot with its lid still in place, at the site.
The Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (QLTR) has ruled the 100 or so items should be allocated to National Museums Scotland (NMS) for display – provided it pays £1.98million to Mr McLennan.
The payment is the largest of its kind, dwarfing a payment of £462,000 made in 2010 to a metal detectorist who unearthed Iron Age gold near Stirling. Rules on discoveries in Scotland mean only the finder receives payment, differing from the rest of the UK – where awards are split with the land owner.
NMS now has six months to raise enough funds to make the ex gratia payment, a sum set to reflect the market value of the find. The bulk of the hoard is silver jewellery but it also contains textiles and an ‘outstanding range of exceptional precious metal and jewelled items’, including a rare gold ingot, beads, crystals and a decorated silver-gilt cup thought to be of Byzantine origin.
Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of NMS, said: ‘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 £1.98million to acquire this unique treasure for the nation and ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations both at home and abroad.’
Retired businessman Mr McLennan, who took up metal detecting in 2011, discovered a cache of 300 medieval coins in the same part of the country a year before unearthing the Viking hoard.
His partner Sharon McKee said last night: ‘We look forward to the many exciting discoveries that will be further revealed. We cannot wait for its eventual display in Scotland’s National Museum.’
The Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer, David Harvie, said he had accepted the recommendation of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel that the items go to National Museums Scotland.
Dumfries and Galloway Council had hoped to house them at a gallery being built in Kirkcudbright.
And the Galloway Viking Hoard campaign group wanted the find to be displayed in the south-west of Scotland, close to where it was discovered.