Archaeologists dig at Furness Viking hoard site

Archaeologists have examined the secret Furness site where a hoard of silver Viking booty was unearthed by a metal detectorist. 

Dan Elsworth, director of Greenlane Archaeology, carrying out an archaeological dig at the site where the Furness Viking hoard was recently found [Credit: Joe Riley]

In Easter last year a local enthusiast discovered 92 pieces, made up of a number of very rare silver coins and assorted artifacts.

The hoard, dated to around 955, was officially declared treasure in September.

It has been described as “the missing link” by experts, who say it is the long-awaited evidence of a material culture of the 9th and 10th Century Vikings who settled in the Furness peninsula.

Dan Elsworth, director of Ulverston-based Greenlane Archaeology and colleague Tom Mace investigated the site today.

Their aim was to check the one-square-metre plot for any pieces which may have been missed, and put it in context with the surrounding area.

As Mr Elsworth expected, they did not make any fresh findings, because the original metal detector was likely to have picked up everything.

Mr Elsworth said: “It’s quite surprising a hoard of this period has not been found in this area already.

“The Furness area and South Cumbria have got a huge amount of Norse history. Clearly there were people coming here across the Irish Sea and from the other direction as well. We’ve had the Viking hoard at Silverdale (discovered last September), which is from a similar date, but a bit earlier.

“The academics are quite excited about this one because the date is a bit later. The whole of England should’ve been unified by then with a single national coinage, because we had a single ruler by that point (King Athelstanwith in around 927 AD).”

Dan Elsworth (right), director of Greenlane Archaeology, and his colleague Tom Mace carrying out an archaeological dig [Credit: Joe Riley]

The site is located next to a large boulder and Mr Elsworth said of the rock: “It’s obviously been there a long time, at least since the last ice age.

“Things are buried in the ground, with the intention of coming back to them, so it does make you wonder whether they stuck it next to it on purpose to make it easier to find.”

Dock Museum curator Sabine Skae hoped the hoard would be displayed at the Barrow museum by late summer.

She said: “We regularly get people phoning the front desk asking ‘What’s happening with the hoard’, ‘We want to see it in Barrow’, ‘What’s going on?’.

She was waiting for confirmation from the Treasury Committee, in London, that the find could be housed in Barrow.

Once this was confirmed the museum would begin fundraising to make sure the hoard could stay in the town, she said.

Source: North-West Evening Mail [January 26, 2012]