The Herefordshire Hoard is a

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of coins and jewellery dating to the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

period found near

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

, Herefordshire in June 2015.

Discovery

The hoard was discovered by metal detectorists George Powell and Layton Davies near

Eye, Herefordshire Eye is a small village in the Eye, Moreton and Ashton civil parish of Herefordshire, England, and north from Leominster, north from the city and county town of Hereford, and in the catchment area of the River Lugg. Eye has a small historic c ...

, near Leominster in 2015. Under the stipulations of the

Treasure Act 1996 The Treasure Act 1996 is a UK Act of Parliament, defining which objects are classified as treasure, legally obliging the finder to report their find. It applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Provisions The Act is designed to deal with ...

, they should have reported the find within 14 days. They did not report the find and instead sold it to dealers, except a few individual pieces which were reported to the

Portable Antiquities Scheme The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme began in 1997 and now covers ...

's local representative, Peter Reavill. The detectorists were illegally detecting on land owned by Lord Cawley.

Contents of the hoard

Much of the hoard had been sold prior to the conviction. Antique dealers in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

were used to sell individual items from the hoard. The hoard originally contained an estimated 300 coins, of which 31 have been recovered along with a silver ingot, a rock-crystal pendant mounted in gold wire, a gold bracelet, and a gold finger ring. The hoard was buried in the late 9th century, from which most of the objects date. The rock-crystal pendant is thought to be 5th or 6th century in date. The economic value of the hoard has proved difficult to establish, as much of it is still missing and is presumed hidden or sold. One collector who bought 16 of the coins estimated the value of the whole hoard to be as much as £3 million. It was reported in December 2022 that the thirty coins which had been recovered were valued at proceeds of crime hearing at

Worcester Crown Court The Shire Hall is a municipal building in Foregate Street in Worcester, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The ( 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. xlviii) allowed for ''"erecting a County Hall and Courts of Justice, and also for providing A ...

at £501,000. The missing 270 coins were also estimated to have a total value of £2.4m.

Conviction for theft

In 2019 the two detectorists were found guilty of theft and concealment of the find. The coin dealers Simon Wicks and Paul Wells were also found guilty under the concealment charge. Powell was jailed for ten years and Layton for eight-and-a-half. Wicks was jailed for five years. Wells fell ill during the sentencing hearing and was due to be sentenced at a later hearing in December 2019. In December 2022, Powell and Davies were ordered to repay more than £600,000 each or face an additional five years of imprisonment. In January 2025 a warrant was issued for Powell's arrest, after he failed to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Acquisition and transmission

Herefordshire Museum Service, part of Herefordshire Council, were, as of March 2020, in the process of acquiring the surviving parts of the hoard. In December 2020, it was announced that the story of the hoard was in the shortlist for the

Current Archaeology ''Current Archaeology'' is a British monthly archaeology magazine. Summary ''Current Archaeology'' describes itself as the "United Kingdom's best selling archaeology magazine", a claim substantiated by British Archaeological Jobs and Resources o ...

'Rescue Project of the Year'. Peter Reavill discussed the hoard in an episode of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

series ''The Digital Human'' on 'Treasures' on 8 March 2021. On 20th March 2025, BBC Sounds began a podcast series
'Fool's Gold'
covering the story of the discovery and illegal handling of the Herefordshire hoard.

References

{{Gold Hoards 2015 in England Anglo-Norse England Anglo-Saxon archaeology Hoards of jewellery Medieval European metalwork objects Metal detecting finds in England Viking treasure troves Treasure troves in England 2015 archaeological discoveries Crime in England

Discovery

Contents of the hoard

Conviction for theft

Acquisition and transmission

See also

References