New hoard declared treasure trove

Jan 4 2013

Most of a collection of new items found close to where the Staffordshire Hoard was previously discovered have been declared treasure trove.

The 81 items of gold and silver, which date to the 7th century, will now be handed to the British Museum's valuation committee, which will assess their worth, South Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh told an inquest in Stafford.

It will then be up to Staffordshire County Council and neighbouring councils to raise the money to buy the new items for the nation.

If the money is raised, the pieces are likely to end up in museums with the original Staffordshire Hoard, which was found in a field near Lichfield in 2009 by metal detectorist Terry Herbert.

Mr Herbert and landowner and local farmer Fred Johnson will divide any proceeds from the sale of the new find in the same way they did with the original hoard.

The second haul was discovered by a team from Archaeology Warwickshire.

But Mr Herbert and Mr Johnson will benefit because they were were behind the original discovery, the coroner said.