Viking hoard treasure goes on display in Hereford

Viking treasure at the centre of a court case that saw a pair of metal detectorists jailed has gone on display in Hereford.

The Herefordshire Hoard, dating back 1,100 years, will be the centrepiece of the city's revamped museum and art gallery when it reopens in 2025.

However, people have a chance to get an initial view on Wednesday at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre.

Items include ornate jewellery and coins.

The original hoard was estimated to be worth £3m, although much of it was unaccounted for, a court hearing in December was told.

Two men were jailed in 2019 for not declaring their find of coins and jewellery in a field near Leominster four years earlier.

Two others were also jailed for their part in concealing the find.

A fundraising campaign raised £776,250 to bring the Herefordshire Hoard back to its home county last year and it will ultimately go on permanent display after an £18m transformation of the museum and art gallery.

Items on display on Wednesday include a 9th Century gold ring, a crystal rock pendant mounted in gold, a dragon's head bracelet, an ingot and a collection of ancient coins.

The hoard will also be on display at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre on 12 September and 11 November.

Damian Etheraads, Herefordshire Council's museum and gallery lead, said: "There's a fair chance that items from the hoard were seen by more people 1,100 years ago than have seen them in this century.

"When it comes to the coins, people are often surprised that they exist at all. They're wafer thin. It's amazing that they survived being buried underground in a field for well over a thousand years."

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