Industry | 2009.11.16
This treasure stirs the West Midlands' Anglo-Saxon soul | Tristram Hunt
The Staffordshire hoard has brought history to life in modern-day Mercia – and it is here that the collection has to return
From the Lindisfarne gospels to the Lewis chessmen , much of British heritage policy is about putting things back where they belong. Now we have a golden opportunity not to commit the original sin, and ensure the most fascinating find in a generation remains where it should.
The Staffordshire hoard , that stunning collection of 1,500 Anglo-Saxon gold and silver goods discovered near Lichfield, has just gone on display at the British Museum with the earth still on it – the hoard\'s final outing before the treasure valuation committee sets a price to be split between the finder Terry Herbert and the field owner. But once those experts have announced whatever millions are needed, the loot must be fast-tracked out of Bloomsbury back to the kingdom of Mercia .
For history has come alive in the West Midlands, with some 40,000 enthusiasts queueing for over three hours at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to look at the truly stunning hoard. Curators have been astonished by the passion and pride sparked by the discovery, with late openings laid on and the collection relocated to a larger gallery.
Part of this interest has been about the local identity the treasure points to. The role of the West Midlands in the civil war and industrial revolution is well understood, but the region now realises it also stood at the centre of the seventh century Anglo-Saxon world.
At its peak the Mercian kingdom stretched from London to Derbyshire and Herefordshire to Lincolnshire, and the Mercian king was calling himself Rex Britanniae . But this find of garnet-encrusted pommel caps, sword hilt collars and helmet fragments points to all sorts of other interesting questions about the wealth, kingship patterns, burial rituals and levels of Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon elite. It also highlights the unexpected internationalism of seventh-century Mercian trade, with some of the precious stones hailing from today\'s Turkey and Sri Lanka.
The significance of this hoard cannot be overplayed. According to the historian Simon Keynes, its riches start to explain how the Mercians held on to power for so long, as well as expand our understanding of Saxon culture, beginning with the epic poem Beowulf . It is the type of find that changes the teaching of the past almost overnight.
It is also a testament to the continuing success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Since its inception in 1996, this voluntary framework for rewarding amateur archaeologists and metal detectives has transformed public honesty over ancient finds. Rather than being scurried on to the black market, coins, medals and artefacts are handed into local museums with the promise of a cash payout. As a result, the last six years has seen an average increase of nearly 200% in the reporting of buried treasure.
Terry Herbert followed the Treasure Act to the letter. So, following the announcement of an initial valuation (rumoured to be near £3m), museums and galleries will have four months to raise the money for the acquisition and display of the hoard. After that, the British Museum, and potentially foreign parties, can step in. However, with his trademark acuity – and more than enough restitution cases to be getting on with – Neil MacGregor , the museum\'s director, has backed the campaign to return the collection to the region.
The question is: where in the West Midlands? Staffordshire county council and Lichfield district council can both lay a decent claim to the hoard, and the income from thousands of tourists who will come to see it. But the closest museum to the find is probably the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke, while the big regional player is Birmingham. Thankfully, in contrast to the usual dogfight, the region\'s leaders have decided to work together under Birmingham and Stoke\'s leadership with follow-up plans for heritage tourism across "Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire".
All they have to do now is raise the money. Small sums have begun filling museum donation boxes, but it will take proper cash to preserve the collection. Already the regional minister, Ian Austin , has called on "our modern Mercian merchant princes to come to the aid of the appeal" – and so they should.
For decades regional leaders have rightly complained about the way England\'s historical and archaeological treasures disappear into the golden triangle of London-Oxford-Cambridge, with South Kensington\'s museum mile creaming off the top. Well, here is a golden opportunity to undo a relentless process of cultural centralisation with a campaign to "Hold on to the Hoard".
Those Black Country industrialists, Staffordshire landowners, Sutton Coldfield professionals and Birmingham business people need to find their inner Anglo-Saxon. For what the hoard reveals is that their seventh-century forebears, those righteous conquerors and wealthy warlords, were determined to use their prosperity to support art, crafts and design. These treasures, with their eagle miniatures, biblical inscriptions and thousands of inlaid garnets, show a kingdom replete with affluence and cultural confidence. The West Midlands wealthy have an unprecedented opportunity to ensure that future generations have ready access to this incredible insight into their identity and heritage.
Because if they fluff it some future director of the British Museum will no doubt find themselves in the invidious position of explaining just why the Staffordshire hoard can\'t return to Mercia.
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