This is such good news - part of the Anglo Saxon Hoard is coming to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in the City Centre early next year. Dating from the 7th Century, it was found earlier this year in a field in the Tamworth/Lichfield area of Staffordshire (the heart of the ancient Anglo Saxon Kingdom of Mercia) by metal detectorist Terry Herbert; as it has been declared treasure trove he and the farmer whose land the hoard was found on will share quite a considerable sum. Some of the items have been on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and as I've seen from reports on BBC Midlands Today (link) there have been queues of people visiting it. At present some of the items are on display at the British Museum in London; once it has been valued about 80 pieces from the collection are coming to the city for about 3 weeks. It will be good for the City, good for Tourism and good for me - it will be so close I could walk there!Here is a link to see some of the items - TheStaffordshire Hoard Web Page
Now Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council are mounting a joint bid to keep the Hoard in Staffordshire; there are about 1,500 pieces in all and as the hoard has been declared to be as important as the Sutton Hoo collection of artefacts I expect some of the pieces will remain at the British Museum to take their place alongside other important collections but it would be wonderful for Staffordshire if some of the items could have a permanent home in the County where they were found.
