In 2014, a metal detectorist scanning land in southwestern Scotland made a stunning discovery. Buried beneath the soil in the region of Galloway was a trove of seemingly Viking artifacts, from the 9th century. The Galloway Hoard, as it came to be known, became the largest collection of Viking Age treasures ever found in the British Isles.
But it’s also one of the most perplexing.
Simply put, some artifacts, like this vase from Iran just don’t seem to fit. This casted doubt not just on whether the artifacts are Viking at all, but also on the cultural and commercial trades in the region at the time.
The Perplexing Galloway Hoard
At first glance, the hoard appeared to be a typical Viking Age find. The Vikings loved their treasure, and they often buried it, most commonly to keep it safe during periods of conflict or while traveling. The artifacts first uncovered in the Galloway Hoard seemed to fit with this idea. The trove contained a few dozen pieces of silver, including ingots and Viking arm rings and jewelry. The presence of these rings, in particular, pointed to Viking ownership.
“When it came out of the ground, the first thing that anybody saw was the piles and piles of silver, so for years after that it was only spoken of as a Viking hoard,” said Adrián Maldonado, Galloway Hoard researcher at National Museums Scotland. “And then we started looking into the material.”
Things got weirder and weirder.
Beneath the initial silver cache, archaeologists discovered a second, much larger deposit. This lower layer, concealed under a decoy layer of soil, contained even more silver objects and an array of curious artifacts that challenged initial interpretations. Among the more surprising finds were a gold bird-shaped pin, an Anglo-Saxon cross, and even a lidded silver vessel containing treasures from distant lands.
Whoever buried the hoard must have assumed that anyone stumbling across the treasure would be satisfied with the original find, and they were almost correct. It was only one last metal detector check that convinced archaeologists to look deeper.
When archaeologists started looking at this second horde in more detail, nothing seemed to make sense anymore.
Gold, silver, and Faith
The first thing that stood out was pieces of currency (ingots) that had been shaped into arm rings — jewelry that you would wear around the wrist and that could also be used as currency.
“Wherever you get these arm rings and the hacksilver, it’s in places that are associated with Viking trade,” says Maldonado. “When you get them in Scotland, you are generally safely in a Viking context.”
But other things were far less Viking — and one such object was a small gold bird-shaped pin. At first glance, the bird resembled a flamingo, with its large, curved beak and thin, spindly legs. However, scholars now believe the pin may represent a mythical phoenix rather than a flamingo. The phoenix, a symbol of rebirth and immortality, was closely associated with Christian iconography during this period. It often symbolized Christ’s resurrection. The gold bird pin, crafted with intricate detail, would have been extremely valuable.
“It could only have been worn by an abbot, a bishop, or royalty,” he says. “Nobody else is getting such an ornate symbol of their faith.”
Researchers also came across an ornate silver cross. The cross was intricately decorated with gold inlay and the symbols of the four Gospel writers were etched onto its arms. Such a cross would have also been worn by someone of high status.
Already, this trove was shaping up to be quite the conundrum. Such findings were unprecedented for Viking troves. Even the silver bracelets weren’t as straightforward as initially thought.
The Geopolitics of 9th century Britain
The runic inscriptions on the silver bracelets appeared to abbreviate Anglo-Saxon names, such as “BER,” possibly short for Berwulf, and “ED,” likely representing Edward. This discovery suggested that the hoard might have had multiple owners, possibly four, each marking their contribution with their name.
The inscribed rings were tied together, further supporting the theory that this hoard represented a collective effort to protect shared wealth.
But why would a group of Anglo-Saxons be in possession of so much Viking silver and such an unusual trove of treasures?
Researchers suspect an unorthodox alliance between Vikings and Anglo-Saxons — because nothing else would even remotely make sense.
Galloway, where the hoard was buried, was a region caught between emerging power centers. To the south, Alfred the Great was consolidating Anglo-Saxon England. To the north, the medieval kingdom of Scotland was taking shape. Meanwhile, Viking kingdoms controlled much of northern and eastern Britain.
Simply put, Galloway, at the crossroads of competing forces, was a place where pragmatic alliances were likely necessary for survival. The Galloway Hoard could represent the results of such an alliance — an Anglo-Saxon group cooperating with Viking traders or settlers.
“Galloway is where these different cultures were meeting,” says Goldberg. “It’s not just Scandinavians, but people from Britain and Ireland as well.” The hoard’s silver reflects this critical era of interaction between Galloway’s Anglo-Saxon inhabitants and the Vikings on their doorstep. “I can imagine lots of pragmatic alliances,” says Kershaw. “I’d be happy to see the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons maybe collaborating in some way. It’s just too weird an assemblage to make sense of otherwise.”
… and then there’s the vase from Iran
Even among all these crazy artifacts, the most striking element of the Galloway Hoard is still the lidded silver vessel found buried alongside the silver arm rings.
The vessel itself is an extraordinary work of art. The layers of textiles carefully wrapped around it when it was buried are still partially preserved. The surface of the vessel depicts intricate designs including Zoroastrian fire altars, winged crowns, and animals like leopards and tigers. These are all common motifs associated with the Sasanian Empire, which ruled over modern-day Iran between A.D. 224 and 651.
“A vessel like this has never made it this far west,” says Goldberg. “We are having to look wider and wider to find out where we think some of these things came from.”
As if this wasn’t enough, this four-inch-tall vessel also contained a collection of miniature treasures. Among them were glass beads, pendants, and curiosities from as far away as western Asia.
“The core of the Galloway Hoard, and where you get the most unusual range of materials, is this lidded vessel,” says Goldberg. “It contains items that you will not find in any other Viking Age hoard.”
This discovery marks the first time such an object has been found so far west, suggesting the existence of long-distance trade routes that linked Viking Britain to the Middle East and beyond. Inside the vessel, archaeologists found a rock crystal jar wrapped in linen, one of the earliest examples of silk in Scotland, and even small balls of compacted earth likely brought back as souvenirs from pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
A Bizarre Microcosm of the Viking Age
Who made this trove and why they buried it thusly is unclear. But the more archaeologists study the Galloway Hoard, the more they find that the people who left it must have been at a striking cultural crossroads. The hoard’s blend of Christian and pagan items reflects the blurred lines between the different worlds that coexisted in ninth-century Britain. The mix of artifacts tells the story of a region in flux, where shifting political alliances and cultural exchanges shaped the lives of its inhabitants.
For now, the hoard remains a puzzle — one that challenges our perceptions of the Viking Age and forces us to reconsider the relationships between the diverse cultures that shaped medieval Britain.
Contrary to popular belief, this was a time not just of raids and warfare but also of cooperation, trade, and shared values. At least sometimes, people managed to coexist and thrive despite all their differences.
