Galloway Hoard Digging into mystery of Viking treasure
THE GALLOWAY Hoard, Scotland’s earliest Viking-age hoard, was buried around 900 AD and rediscovered in 2014 on Church of Scotland land at Balmaghie in Kirkcudbrightshire by a metal detectorist. Now the story of the hoard, its contents and its significance are just beginning to be told with the opening of a new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland (NMS). The exhibition of the fascinating find will run until 12 September. A lidded vessel is perhaps the single biggest item but others of note include the cluster of ribbon arm rings almost interwoven together. The thought is that the hoard is a deliberate deposit from possibly four owners, not all of whom were of equal status, but it was done with a lot of thought.
Dr Chris Breward, NMS Director said: “The Galloway Hoard rightly drew international attention both on its discovery and its acquisition by NMS following a successful major fundraising campaign. I’m sure people will be fascinated to have this opportunity to see it now far more clearly, to understand its importance and to gain an insight into the amazingly detailed work that we have done and are continuing to do with it.”
Sat 29 May to Sun 12 Sept 2021 National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh (and touring thereafter)
Admission: Free (pre-booking required to visit the Museum)
nms.ac.uk/gallowayhoard