Staffordshire Hoard

A while back, I blogged HERE about UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure. It was discovered buried beneath a field in South Staffordshire by Terry Herbert using a metal detector and was saved from destruction by the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Birmingham City Council.

The collection of nearly 3,300 gold and silver artefacts from the seventh and eighth centuries contains warfare paraphernalia, including sword pommel caps, hilt plates, and helmet cheek pieces as well as religious crosses inlaid with precious stones. Experts say the hoard is unparalleled in size and worth "a seven figure sum". Experts also believe that the treasure could be the booty from a battlefield from the ancient kingdom of Mercia.

The collection as part of an exhibition, called Anglo-Saxon Hoard: Gold from England's Dark Ages, will be touring the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C. from October 29, 2011 to March 4, 2012. In addition to the museum exhibition, National Geographic will feature the hoard and its discovery in a new book, Lost Gold: War, Treasure, and the Mystery of the Saxons, in a November television special for the National Geographic Channel and in the November issue of the National Geographic Magazine.