The Kirkoswald Hoard is a ninth-century hoard of 542 copper alloy coins of the

Kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

and a silver trefoil ornament, which were discovered amongst tree roots in 1808 within the parish of Kirkoswald in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, UK.

Discovery

The hoard was discovered in 1808 near the village of Kirkoswald in

. It was found within the roots of a tree which had been blown down; other than the parish, there is no further find spot recorded.

The hoard comprised 542 or more

stycas The styca (; . ''stycas'') was a small coin minted in pre-Viking Northumbria, originally in base silver and subsequently in a copper alloy. Production began in the 790s and continued until the 850s, though the coin remained in circulation until th ...

, as well as a silver trefoil ornament. The coins within the assemblage were issued by the kings of Northumbria, Eanred, Aethelred II, Redwulf and Osberht, as well as by the archbishops of York, Eanbald II, Wigmund and

Wulfhere Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...

. They were first described by the antiquarian John Adamson.

Elizabeth Pirie Elizabeth Jean Elphinstone Pirie (14 September 1932 – 1 March 2005) was a British numismatist specialising in ninth-century Northumbrian coinage, and museum curator, latterly as Keeper of Archaeology at Leeds City Museum from 1960 to 1991. She ...

, ''Catalogue of the Early Northumbrian Coins in the Museum of Antiquities'', Newcastle upon Tyne, Department of Archaeology, Newcastle University (1982). Based on the contents of the hoard, its date of deposition has been attributed to c.865. Comparisons have been made between the metalwork on the trefoil ornament and objects found in the Trewhiddle Hoard and in the

West Yorkshire Hoard The West Yorkshire Hoard is a precious-metal hoard of six gold objects, including four gold finger-rings, and a lead spindle whorl, which was discovered near Leeds, West Yorkshire, in 2008–2009 by a metal detectorist. The find was of national ...

. Whilst it appears to have been deposited at the same time as the coins, it may date from the late eighth century.Wilson, David M. "The King's School, Canterbury, disc brooch." ''Medieval Archaeology'' 4.1 (1960): 16-28.

Acquisition

Soon after its discovery the hoard was split up: the ornament was eventually purchased by the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. The coins were split and parcels of the find made their way into the hands of private collections. By 1814, six coins from the find were in the collection of the

Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, the oldest provincial antiquarian society in England, was founded in 1813. It is a registered charity under English law. It has had a long-standing interest in the archaeology of the North East ...

. They were donated by the Atkinson family who had an estate at

Temple Sowerby Temple Sowerby is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, northern England. It is close to the main east–west A66 road about east of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in the River Eden, Cumbria, Eden Valley. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ce ...

nearby. The whereabouts of the rest of the coins are unknown.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Anglo-Saxon archaeology History of Cumbria Medieval European objects in the British Museum 9th century in England Hoards from Anglo-Saxon Britain Archaeological discoveries in the United Kingdom

Discovery

Contents

Acquisition

See also

Notes

References