british stonemason finds £500000 viking hoard
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Hidden treasure lay underground for years

British stonemason finds £500,000 Viking hoard

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today British stonemason finds £500,000 Viking hoard

Darren Webster holds a Viking arm ring
London - Arabstoday

Darren Webster holds a Viking arm ring When the Viking warrior buried his hoard of silver coins and jewellery in a lead container, he doubtless expected to be back for them after his next battle. But thanks to those pesky Anglo Saxons, they remained undisturbed for more than 1,000 years... until Darren Webster discovered them with a metal detector during his lunch break.
Found just 18 inches beneath the surface of a field in Silverdale, Lancashire, the 201 objects were yesterday hailed by the British Museum as one of the most important Viking discoveries of recent times.
Based on previous finds, they could be worth as much as £500,000.
Mr Webster, a 39-year-old stonemason, said he found the hoard in September.
‘When I lifted the lead pot out of the ground there was a hole underneath and silver started to fall out. That is when I realised I had found something important.’
Quite how important became apparent when one of the 27 coins in the hoard proved to be a previously unrecorded type which the experts believe carries the name of an unknown Viking ruler in northern England.
The name is Airdeconut, thought to be an attempt to represent the Scandinavian name Harthacnut.
The coin also helps to dispel the popularly held view that Vikings were all pagans who pillaged monasteries out of hatred of the Christian Church.
One side has the words ‘DNS [short for Dominus] REX’, which means ‘the Lord and King’, and they are arranged in the form of a cross, reflecting the fact that many Vikings converted to Christianity soon after settling in Britain.
Viking raids on Britain began in 793AD. Then in 865AD a full Viking army stormed through the country.
At the time the items were buried around 900AD, the Vikings were fighting the Anglo Saxons to keep control of the North of England – and presumably their owner came off second best.
The museum’s curator of early medieval coins, Dr Gareth Williams, estimated the total value of the items at the time of burial would have been enough to buy ‘a small estate, a large flock of sheep or a small herd of cattle’.
The haul, which has yet to be valued, went on display at the museum yesterday and will be examined by a coroner tomorrow.
If an inquest declares that it is treasure, it will be offered to the British Museum or a local museum which has it valued by an independent board of experts.
If the museum wants the find, it must pay the market value of the treasure to the finder and/or landowner. If it does not, the finder can keep it.
In this case, the Lancaster City Museum is interested in buying the find for its collection.
The proceeds are expected to be divided between Mr Webster and the owner of the land.
 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

british stonemason finds £500000 viking hoard british stonemason finds £500000 viking hoard

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

british stonemason finds £500000 viking hoard british stonemason finds £500000 viking hoard

 



GMT 21:16 2016 Monday ,27 June

Zaki Badr discusses cleaning problem in Giza

GMT 21:46 2017 Saturday ,14 January

Turkey arrests 60 businessmen for alleged Gulen ties

GMT 22:38 2017 Friday ,24 March

Abbas meets with Merkel in Berlin

GMT 09:02 2017 Monday ,27 March

Tunisian Premier Concludes Visit to Sudan

GMT 15:54 2017 Friday ,01 September

Attorney General Directs Prosecutors to inspect Prison

GMT 09:22 2017 Sunday ,31 December

HM King condoles with Afghanistan President

GMT 10:12 2016 Wednesday ,06 April

Strong dollar, mild weather shrink H&M profits

GMT 17:03 2016 Saturday ,24 December

7 police killed in attacks in Afghansitan

GMT 13:51 2017 Friday ,17 March

Israel denies Syria shot down a warplane

GMT 04:08 2017 Thursday ,05 January

Carbon tax can fund clean energy transition

GMT 19:27 2016 Wednesday ,14 September

Alstom to go ahead with plans to shut down Belfort plant
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday