A Viking Hoard to go on display at the Beacon
Secrets Beneath The Soil
A Viking Hoard discovered in Beckermet is about to go on display at the Beacon Museum.
Some of you may remember reading a few years ago about two archaeological enthusiasts from west Cumbria, also known as the Garrett Lads who in 2013 unearthed a hoard of Roman silver coins known as ‘The Lowside Quarter Hoard.’ A year later, they trumped their Roman discovery after coming across a Viking hoard of 20 silver artefacts in Beckermet.
Catching up with Justin, who is Assistant Head at Netherhall School, he said: “We tend to go out a lot more now after discovering the Viking hoard; my wife and Dan’s fiancée practically kick us out the house; but it does keeps us out of trouble.” The Viking hoard, found in a farmer’s field included 16 ingots which were used for trading purposes or payment and four rings.
Justin, who described the Viking hoard as ‘the find of a lifetime’, continued: “Since the find, Garrett, who makes the detectors, bought us one of their top machines to go over the land again to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. We’ve done a lot of land around that area and not found anything significant, but the amount of groats and old four pence’s we’ve come across is fascinating.”
The pair has also discovered in the area an Edward I penny, two Henry VII groats, a Queen Ann groat, several other medieval coins and a Marc Antony groat from 35bc. He said: “We don’t expect to find much here, but when we do, it’s fantastic. There’s so much that we just don’t know about in Cumbria. Everything that we find is that one extra piece of the jigsaw, and we just want to put it all together.”
After its location, the hoard which weighed 880 grams was held at the British Museum to undergo investigation. Justin explained how any coin or artefact that is found to be over 300 years old legally has to be declared, and if there are two or more in the same place it is classed as treasure. He said: “The British Museum finds out exactly what the artefacts and coins are, where they come from and if there are any rare ones.” A few months later, the hoard was declared as ‘treasure’ at an inquest before returning back to Cumbria.
On Saturday February 25, Justin and Daniel will officially launch the Viking Hoard exhibit at the Beacon Museum which includes the discoverers leading a metal detecting class with the museum’s Quantum Leap club at the discovery site. Justin added: “A lot of people don’t realise just what happened in Cumbria. It’s the second Viking Hoard that has been found in here and it’s about piecing together the bits of history. I want people to know about it and the fact the Beacon has bought the hoard means that my children and grandchildren can go down there in years to come and say ‘Dad and Granddad found that’, and to me that is worth so much more than any money.”
Elizabeth Kwasnik, Beacon Museum director, said: “We are delighted to have the Norse hoard back as a key part of Copeland’s historic collection here in the Beacon Museum. The artefacts invoke many stories of a time in Cumbria’s ancient past that is often overlooked, and we are giving our community a focal point to understand a bit more about those Scandinavian people who settled in this area and became part of our ancestry.”
As part of the exhibit’s launch, the museum’s resident Norse settler, Nala Nollig will be leading sessions that take visitors deeper into the stories and significance surrounding the hoard while younger visitors can enter a Viking workshop to produce round shields or mini longboats. Thursday 23 February will see Norse Sagas day with bookable storytelling sessions with renowned storyteller Steve Wharton, and on Friday 24, an adult Viking murder mystery evening takes place in the museum. (Both ticketed events- check online or phone 01946 592302 to book.)
https://thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk/
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