Dated: 02/07/2010

Viking hoard stars in prestigious BBC series

The Vale of York Viking Hoard has featured in the latest instalment of the BBC Radio 4 series, A History of the World in 100 Objects.

The treasure will go back on display when the Yorkshire Museum reopens on 1 August, 2010, after being included in a special British Museum exhibition, Treasures from Medieval York, during the refurbishment.

The Vale of York Viking Hoard includes 600 coins, complete ornaments, ingots (bars), and chopped-up fragments known as hack silver, and was discovered in North Yorkshire in January 2007 by two metal detectorists, Dave and Andrew Whelan.

When it was found, all the objects were packed into a dirty silver cup with soil on top and experts from the British Museum could not believe the amount of items they found inside. The coins came from as far afield as Russia and Central Asia and many were in an incredibly good, polished condition due to being stored inside the cup.

The Hoard was chosen by British Museum director Neal MacGregor as one of 100 Objects he would use to tell the History of the World. Listen to the episode on the Hoard on the BBC’s special website dedicated to the series, which also includes more images plus interviews with the Whelans and with Fleur Shearman, conservator at the British Museum.

And don’t miss this your chance to see this amazing collection of Viking treasure in our new gallery, Medieval York – The Power and the Glory – when we reopen on 1 August.