Public collection helped save Viking's most valuable treasure, finder gets 57 million

A book could be written about Derek McLennan and his "Galloway" treasure. Three years ago, this Scottish good-natured sympathiser and great promoter of detector detecting found the so-called "Galloway". "Galloway Treasure"; the largest and most valuable silver and gold Viking set ever found in the islands. The deadline for raising funds to purchase the treasure is at the beginning of November. And so, as well as the great feeling of discovering national history, Derek can also be warmed by the reward that will land in his account in the next few days...

Derek found the treasure in September 2014 - we told you about it in the article: The 9th Century Vikung Treasure.A t the time, it was known to contain several dozen very interesting items and, most importantly, a well-sealed Carolingian pot that was thought to contain other artifacts. Since then, I have continuously followed developments and reported on any progress in uncovering the treasure's hitherto hidden secrets. First with an article in November of that year The 9th Century Treasure Bears Witness, a year and a half later with the results of an examination of the contents of the pot using CT scans and finally with the Galloway Treasure revealed .

So I won't repeat myself , I'll just recommend the above articles if you haven't already. They are really worth reading. At the moment the whole "case" is coming to a conclusion, practically closed after exactly three years. While some of the artefacts are still of interest to experts, this May the coroner set the value of the hoard at £1,982,200 (nearly £57.4 million) with the proviso that it be released for sale. From the outset, the National Museum of Scotland has shown a fervent interest in the collection, which, along with Derek, wanted to preserve the treasure on "Scottish soil" as a national heritage of immense significance.

However, the sum defined was more than large even for Scotland's largest museum. The deadline for its acquisition was set at just six months. The museum therefore set up a special collection, to which more than 1,500 members of the public have contributed a total of over £200,000 to date. The Scottish Government has also contributed its share, donating £150,000 to the Museum. The UK's National Heritage Trust has contributed £1 million. Although the remaining amount was still large, the National Museum of Scotland matched it just these days - just two weeks before the deadline of 12 November.

The Galloway Treasure will therefore remain in Scotland, a fact that pleases the general public and the experts, especially the finder Derek McLennan, who wanted this outcome from the start. Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director of National Museums Scotland said, "Over the last six months we have been overwhelmed by the response from the general public to our campaign to save the treasure. I would like to personally thank everyone who has generously donated any amount to this campaign, without which this incredible achievement would not have been possible. We now look forward to continuing our work in unlocking more of the treasure's secrets."

The Director was joined by Fiona Hyslop, Scotland's Secretary of State for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, when she said: "The Galloway Collection is one of the most important collections ever discovered in Scotland. It is important that this treasure is available to the people of Scotland and also to visitors from around the world".

The treasure is partly on display in Edinburgh. However, most of it is still being examined and conserved - experts say it will take several more years to uncover all the details and clues that will reveal some of the secrets Vikingers of the 9th and 10th centuries. Because of the extraordinary diversity of the unique collection of artefacts, which come from virtually the entire continent, including Byzantium, and because of the exceptional preservation of organic materials (e.g. The significance and contribution of the Galloway Hoard to future research is invaluable. The assemblage also included never-before-seen brooches, jewellery and other Anglo-Saxon objects that fundamentally change the view of the period.

If what Derek promised in 2014 holds true, then the proceeds of the sale will be shared with the landowner, which is the local parish. Even so, the amount is double the original estimate, so Derek certainly has no regrets. And, "knowing" him, keeping his word is absolutely crucial. Derek is a retired war veteran himself, helping other veterans through detector searches to get their lives back on track. To do this, he travels around Scotland's schools giving talks on history and detectives, running courses and running clubs for young people. In short, Derek is a man in his own right and if anyone was to find a treasure of such importance and value, it is most certainly him.

Roman Nemec

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A video of the treasure show and a challenge by the museum's curator Martin Goldberg in his campaign for the collection:

Another video from the campaign showing the objects on display:

Sources: bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com, gallowaygazette.co.uk, wikipedia.org, dailymail.co.uk, burnleyexpress.net, youtube.com, facebook.com

Mackanzie Crook inspecting the found objects