Rare Viking hoard found by detectorist in Oxfordshire

A rare Viking hoard of arm rings, coins and silver ingots has been unearthed in Oxfordshire. The hoard was buried near Watlington around the end of the 870s, in the time of the "Last Kingdom".

The hoard includes rare coins, jewellery and silver ingots
[Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

This was when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex were fighting for their survival from the threat of the Vikings, which was to lead to the unification of England.

Archaeologists have called the hoard a "nationally significant find". The hoard was discovered by 60-year-old metal detectorist James Mather.

Metal detectorist James Mather helped to excavate his find on his 60th birthday 
[Credit: Portable Antiquities Scheme]

He said: "I hope these amazing artefacts can be displayed by a local museum to be enjoyed by generations to come."

The find in October was lifted in a block of soil and brought to the British Museum, where it was excavated and studied by experts from the British Museum in London and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The Watlington hoard was received by the British Museum in a block of soil 
[Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

The hoard consists of 186 coins - some fragmentary - and includes rarities from the reign of King Alfred "the Great" of Wessex, who reigned from 871 to 899, and King Ceolwulf II, who reigned in Mercia from 874 to 79.

During this period, King Alfred achieved a decisive victory over the Vikings at the famous Battle of Edington in 878, prompting them to move north of the Thames and travel to East Anglia through the kingdom of Mercia.

Conservation work included dislodging bangles from flint in the earth 
[Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coinage at the British Museum, said it was a key moment in English history as Alfred forged a new kingdom of England by taking control of Mercia.

He said: "This hoard has the potential to provide important new information on relations between Mercia and Wessex at the beginning of that process."