The Mercian Trail is the name given to a group of museums and historical sites in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that will be used to display objects from the Staffordshire Hoard. The trail is organised by a partnership of

Lichfield District Lichfield () is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield. The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² ...

, Tamworth Borough Council,

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. 62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council In England, local auth ...

, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

, and features the following locations: *

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local h ...

() *

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free. One of the four local authority museums in the city, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museu ...

() *

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...

() *

Tamworth Castle Tamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle overlooking the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Before boundary changes in 1889, however, the castle was within the edge ...

() Most of the objects from the Staffordshire Hoard will be put on display at these four locations, although other locations may be included in the trail in the future. In addition a touring exhibition will take some objects from the hoard to other parts of the West Midlands, starting with the Shire Hall Gallery in Stafford. This exhibition will tie in with a display in the nearby Ancient High House Museum, entitled: 'Out of the Dark Ages: Stafford's Anglo-Saxon Origins'. The Ancient High House exhibition, which runs from 28 June to 1 October, examines the coming of the Anglo Saxons and the emergence of the Kingdom of Mercia as well as telling the story of the Saxon burh founded in 913. The display cabinets include a selection of coins and artefacts including a wealth of domestic and personal items, these in contrast to the largely martial artefacts of the Hoard.

Background

Flickr - portableantiquities - Hilt Fitting

The Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in a field in

Hammerwich Hammerwich is a small village and civil parish in the Lichfield District, in Staffordshire, England. It is southeast of Burntwood and northeast of Brownhills. Name The name may derive from ''hamor'' (Old English: a hammer) and ''wīc'' (Old Engl ...

, near

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

in July 2009. After the hoard was declared

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

in September 2009, it was valued at £3.285 million, and a public appeal was launched to raise the money in order for Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery to jointly purchase the hoard. On 23 March 2010 it was announced that the required sum had been raised, and that the hoard would be purchased by these two museums for display in the West Midlands.

Purpose

The Mercian Trail is not only intended to make the Staffordshire Hoard available for display to the public, but it is also intended to highlight the history and archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

, which was centred on the area corresponding to the modern county of Staffordshire. The exhibits of the treasure will attempt to relate the items to other archaeological objects, and promote a greater understanding of the items in their historical context. The organisers of the trail have stated that the trail will attempt to provide answers to the following questions. * How were such ornate items made in Anglo-Saxon times? * What trading links were established in Anglo-Saxon times? * How did the gold reach Britain's shores, and how was it carried here? * What links are there to Birmingham's thriving jewellery industry today? * What role did Staffordshire play in ancient Mercia? * What was life like in Staffordshire during Anglo-Saxon times? * What links are there to existing Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon finds? * Why did the Hoard end up in Staffordshire? * What are the links between the Hoard and early Christendom? * What does the biblical inscription tell us? * What are the links to the

Lichfield Angel The Lichfield Angel is a late eighth-century Anglo-Saxon stone carving discovered at Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire, England, in 2003. It depicts the archangel Gabriel, likely as the left-hand portion of a larger plaque showing the annunci ...

and St Chad? * What is the significance of the folded up cross and serpents? * Are there any links to the

St Chad Gospels The Lichfield Gospels (recently more often referred to as the St Chad Gospels, but also known as the Book of Chad, the Gospels of St Chad, the St Teilo Gospels, the Llandeilo Gospels, and variations on these) is an 8th-century Insular script, I ...

? * What are the links to Offa, and key figures of the period? * What battles took place, and what role did the Hoard play? * Who were the owners of the Hoard, and what wars did they fight in? * What role did Tamworth play in ancient Mercia? * How did the archaeologists extract the Hoard? * Why did the Hoard get laid down in Staffordshire? * How can archaeology uncover the secrets of the Hoard?

References

External links

{{GeoGroupTemplate
The Mercian Trail: the gateway to the Staffordshire Hoard

LGA Mercian Trail Presentation
Mercia Tourist attractions in Staffordshire

Background

Purpose

See also

References

External links