An Elite Viking’s Prized Possessions

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This is the first National Geographic article on the Galloway Hoard




For generations, Viking storytellers regaled listeners with tales of vast treasure hoards guarded by fire-breathing dragons, but real treasure troves from the Viking world are relatively rare.


Today, however, researchers unveiled the contents of a spectacular Viking hoard discovered 18 months ago in Scotland's Galloway region by a metal detectorist. The treasures range from silver armbands inscribed with runes, Anglo-Saxon silver brooches, gold jewelry, bits of ornamentally stitched silk, and even precious plant remains, all buried in a richly decorated metal vessel.


"It's a strange and wonderful selection of objects," says Olwyn Owen, an independent scholar and Viking specialist in Edinburgh. The Viking owners of the trove, she adds, "filled the vessel right to the top, and then they wrapped it in layers of textiles and put it in the ground."

Full article here :  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160323-vikings-galloway-hoard-treasure-scotland-archaeology/