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Viking hoard discovered
A hoard of viking treasure has been found by a metal detector enthusiast in Dumfries and Galloway.
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Viking treasure discovered
A hoard of Viking treasure has been unearthed by an amateur metal detector enthusiast in Dumfries and Galloway.
More than 100 items, some of them gold, were found on church land - it's one of Scotland's most significant finds.
Hannah McNulty reports.
A ninth or tenth century pot among artefacts
Mr McLennan found a cross among dozens of silver armrings and ingots some 24 inches below the ground - well beyond the depth his machine should have been able to register.
When the hole was fully excavated, Mr McLennan picked up another signal at its base, further digging revealed a second level hoard. That find included what is possibly the largest silver Carolingian pot ever discovered, with its lid still in place.
The pot is likely to have been around 100 years old when the hoard was buried in the mid 9th or 10th centuries.
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Over 100 artefacts discovered
More than 100 objects, some of them made of gold, were discovered on church land at an undisclosed location in Dumfries and Galloway.
The rich hoard of artefacts, many of which are unique, includes some of Carolingian and Irish origin. The material comprises many silver ingots, armbands and brooches, as well as several gold objects, Scotland's Treasure Trove Unit announced.
When the discovery was made in early September, Derek McLennan was in the company of two ministers who are also detectorists; Rev Dr David Bartholomew, a Church of Scotland minister of a rural Galloway charge, and Mike Smith, the pastor of an Elim Pentecostal Church in Galloway.
Viking treasure found in Dumfries and Galloway
A hoard of viking treasure has been found by a metal detector enthusiast in Dumfries and Galloway.
The collection, described as the largest viking hoard found in modern history, was discovered at an undisclosed location on Church land.
It was found by 47-year-old Derek McLennan, who has searched the area with a metal detector for the past year.
The find includes an early Christian cross, thought to be from the ninth or tenth century, and what is possibly the largest silver Carolingian pot ever to be discovered.
The hoard is currently in the care of The Treasure Trove Unit.
