A new and fresh dig is to be held at Staffordshire hoard treasure site. Experts say the work is not expected to turn up any more gold, but could reveal how the original items came to be there. The original find of 1,500 gold and silver pieces was made by metal detectorist Terry Herbert in a farmer's field in Staffordshire in July 2009. Containing over 1,500 pieces, mainly gold and many inlaid with precious stones, the Hoard was valued at £3.3.m on 26 November 2009 and declared the most valuable treasure found on British soil.
Photo by Timesonline.co.uk: Terry Herbert showing some of the hoardStoke-on-Trent City Council's chief archaeologist Stephen Dean said the dig was to put the find into some some of context.
"We are trying to find features which could tell us what the landscape was like when the hoard was buried," he said.
"We might be looking for pits, ditches, for some structural evidence if any exists."
There is no evidence of any buildings there at the moment, he added.
Last month, the Staffordshire Hoard team had won the Current Archaeology award for ‘The Best Rescue Dig of the Year, 2010’. Current Archaeology is Britain’s best selling archaeology magazine. The award, sponsored by Andante Travel, was given on the basis of votes cast by its readers, and was presented at the Archaeology 2010 Conference, held at the British Museum on 27 February. The award was accepted by Dr Kevin Leahy, National Advisor, Early Medieval Metalwork, on behalf of the project.
"We are trying to find features which could tell us what the landscape was like when the hoard was buried," he said.
"We might be looking for pits, ditches, for some structural evidence if any exists."
There is no evidence of any buildings there at the moment, he added.
Last month, the Staffordshire Hoard team had won the Current Archaeology award for ‘The Best Rescue Dig of the Year, 2010’. Current Archaeology is Britain’s best selling archaeology magazine. The award, sponsored by Andante Travel, was given on the basis of votes cast by its readers, and was presented at the Archaeology 2010 Conference, held at the British Museum on 27 February. The award was accepted by Dr Kevin Leahy, National Advisor, Early Medieval Metalwork, on behalf of the project.
Photo by Wikipedia: Some of the Staffordshire HoardBirmingham City Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council have until 17 April to raise the funds needed to buy the Staffordshire Hoard for the West Midlands. The Art Fund's, kick-started the public appeal by announcing an initial Art Fund grant of £300,000 and by unveiling the official donation website www.artfund.org/hoard last January. The Arts Fund said £2m had been raised so far and famous names such as Dame Judi Dench and Noddy Holder had given their support to the appeal. The National Heritage Memorial Fund, the fund of last resort for the nation's heritage, is meeting on Tuesday to discuss whether to help with funds or not. Items from the hoard can be seen at The Potteries Museum in Stoke and at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until 18 April.
Source: BBC News, Artfund.org, Timesonline.
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