Viking-era treasure trove secrets to be 'unwrapped' in 拢1m research project
The hoard objects typically "rarely ever survive" and are "archaeological treasures", the University of Glasgow have said.
Monday 21 December 2020 13:03, UK
Researchers will have the opportunity to learn more about the secrets of a Viking-age treasure trove thanks to a major 拢1m grant.
The "Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard" project will examine in detail 10th century objects found by a metal detectorist in a Dumfries and Galloway field in 2014.
The three-year project will be led by National Museums Scotland (NMS) and in partnership with the University of Glasgow, with the items due to go on display in an exhibition in 2021.
The research will examine the precise dating of the hoard, and hopes to identify the items' places of origin - which are thought to range from Ireland, to the Byzantine Empire and beyond.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded a £791,293 grant for the work - with the remainder costs covered by the NMS - which acquired the trove in 2017 - and Glasgow University.
Martin Goldberg, principal curator of medieval archaeology and history at NMS and lead investigator on the project, said the analysis will help answer crucial questions.
He said: "Most hoards are usually interpreted as buried wealth, with the focus on events surrounding the moment of burial.
"The Galloway Hoard challenges this view and presents a rare opportunity to ask in much more detail about how, and why, people assembled and collected hoards during the Viking age.
"We've already discovered a great deal through the conservation work, and people will be able to see that in the forthcoming exhibition."
He added: "However, this research project will enable us to go much further using scientific techniques and international collaboration."
Dr Susanna Harris, archaeology lecturer at the University of Glasgow and co-investigator on the project, said the Galloway collection also contains an "unprecedented array" of other materials - including bronze, glass and rock crystal.
There is also the "outstandingly rare preservation of organic materials" such as wood, leather, wool, linen, and silk, she said.
"Many objects are wrapped in textiles, including Scotland's earliest examples of silk, which could have travelled thousands of miles to reach Scotland".
"These types of wrappings rarely ever survive and are archaeological treasures in their own right.
"The textiles can be chemically tested for dye to help reconstruct lost colours which have faded over the centuries since burial, or they can be radiocarbon dated to help reconstruct the history of the objects before they were buried."
Ms Harris added: "Unwrapping the hoard, literally and figuratively, is a unique and wonderful opportunity."
The Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure exhibition will open at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on 19 February.