Called the "Harrogate Hoard", this archaeological find is of global significance, and the largest Viking treasure discovered in Britain since 1840.
Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, examined the artifacts. The hoard consists of 617 silver coins and 65 other items, including ornaments, ingots and precious metal.
Interestingly, reports indicate that the coins bear Islamic, Christian, and pre-Christian Norse pagan symbols: "some of the coins mixed Christian and pagan imagery, shedding light on the beliefs of newly-Christianized Vikings".
The hoard includes objects from diverse locations, including Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, North Africa, Afghanistan, Russia, Ireland, Scandinavia, and continental Europe, "illustrating the breadth of the Vikings' travels and trade connections".
The gilt silver vessel, in which many small objects were placed, was made around today's France or western Germany, about the middle of the ninth century, probably for use in church services.
The treasure was probably buried after 927, the year that the Anglo-Saxon, King Athelstan of Wessex, defeated the Vikings, conquered York, and received the homage of rulers from Scotland and Wales.
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| The Harrogate Hoard in the York Museum, UK |
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| The Harrogate Hoard in the York Museum, UK |
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| York Museum, UK |