The Bedale Hoard is a hoard of forty-eight

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

items dating from the late 9th to early 10th century AD and includes necklaces, arm-bands, a sword pommel,

hacksilver Hacksilver (sometimes referred to as hacksilber) consists of fragments of cut and bent silver items that were used as bullion or as currency by weight in antiquity. Use Hacksilver was common among the Norsemen or Vikings, as a result of both t ...

and

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sh ...

s. It was discovered on 22 May 2012 in a field near

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

by metal detectorists, and reported via the

Portable Antiquities Scheme The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme begun in 1997 and now covers m ...

. Following a successful public funding campaign, the hoard was acquired by the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

for £50,000.

Contents of the hoard

The hoard contains forty-eight items of

and

and was declared as 'treasure' under the

Treasure Act 1996 The Treasure Act 1996 is a UK Act of Parliament, defining which objects are classified as treasure, legally obliging the finder to report their find. Provisions The Act is designed to deal with finds of treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ire ...

. In addition to 29

s, the hoard contained an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

sword pommel inlaid with foil plaques, four gold hoops or bands from the

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel. ...

of the sword, six small gold rivets, four silver collars and neck-rings (one cut into two pieces), one silver arm, one fragment of a 'Permian' ring, and one silver penannular brooch. Sword Pommel from the Bedale Hoard YORYM 2014 149 1-1

Sword Pommel from the Bedale Hoard YORYM 2014 149 1-1

Sword fittings

The large,

sword pommel survived along with the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, four gold hoops from the

and six gold rivets. The pommel is broadly triangular and is inlaid with plaques of gold foil decorated with incised animal interlace with nicked edges in the late

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

Trewhiddle style Trewhiddle style is a distinctive style in Anglo-Saxon art that takes its name from the Trewhiddle Hoard, discovered in Trewhiddle, Cornwall in 1770. Trewhiddle ornamentation includes the use of silver, niello inlay, and zoomorphic, plant and g ...

, which can be dated to the late 9th century. The form of the pommel is typical of Petersen's late 9th-century type L. Silver is far more usual as a decoration on sword pommels of this date and the extensive use of gold foil on the present find is unique. Large silver necklace from the Bedale Hoard YORYM 2014 149 37

Large silver necklace from the Bedale Hoard YORYM 2014 149 37

Neck-rings

The largest neck collar from the hoard consists of four twisted cables of

, each a different size, hammer-welded together into flat terminals. The outermost cable consists of six thick, plaited rods and the inner three 'hollow' ropes each consists only of three coiled strands of double-twisted rods. Whilst the individual components of the collar can be paralleled, this 'West Viking' variant is unique. International trade associated with this hoard is best demonstrated by the 'Permian' style ring fragment, a type imported from Russia during the early part of the Viking period. Graham-Campbell, G. 2011. ''The Cuerdale Hoard and related Viking-Age silver and gold from Britain and Ireland in the British Museum''. London: British Museum. 88–89 Two complete six-plait cable neck-rings are also present in the hoard, as is a triple-strand neck-ring cut into half and used as

Ingots

Twenty-nine ingots of silver (with a variety of minor alloys) were found with the hoard, many of which have testing-nicks. Three have crosses incised upon them. They range from in weight.

Significance

The hoard represents the scale of international connections in the

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

period, with Russian and IrishTownend, M. 2014. ''Viking Age Yorkshire''. Pickering: Blackthorn Press influences among the

and

Anglo-Scandinavian Anglo-Scandinavian is an academic term referring to the hybridisation between Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures in Britain during the early medieval period. It remains a term and concept often used by historians and archaeologists, and in linguisti ...

elements. The lack of coinage in this hoard shows the

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...

-weight economy in use in the late 9th-century AD. It is earlier than both the

Cuerdale Hoard The Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of more than 8,600 items, including silver coins, English and Carolingian jewellery, hacksilver and ingots. It was discovered on 15 May 1840 on the southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area called Cuer ...

and the

Vale of York Hoard The Vale of York Hoard, also known as the Harrogate Hoard and the Vale of York Viking Hoard, is a 10th-century Viking hoard of 617 silver coins and 65 other items. It was found undisturbed in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, ...

Public display

The hoard was first placed on permanent public display in the Yorkshire Museum in 2014. From 2017 it formed part of a touring exhibition titled 'Viking: Rediscover the Legend' and is displayed alongside the Vale of York hoard and the Cuerdale hoard, with the tour starting at the Yorkshire Museum and subsequently including

Atkinson Art Gallery and Library The Atkinson is a building on the east side of Lord Street extending round the corner into Eastbank Street, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England. The building is a combination of two former buildings, the original Atkinson Art Gallery and ...

in Southport,

Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...

Norwich Castle Museum Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman conquest of England. The castle was used as a ...

, and the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

References

{{coord, 54.29, -1.59, display=title 2012 in England Archaeological sites in Yorkshire Anglo-Norse England Anglo-Saxon archaeology Hoards of jewellery Medieval European metalwork objects Metal detecting finds in England History of North Yorkshire Collections of the Yorkshire Museum Viking treasure troves Treasure troves in England Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire 2012 archaeological discoveries