Herefordshire Hoard: Viking treasures to go on show

Among the hoard was a crystal pendant that dates to around AD600

A collection of Viking treasure, once at the centre of a court case, is to go on display for a limited time.

The coins and jewellery were found in Herefordshire by two detectorists who did not declare the treasure.

After the trial, £776,250 was raised to bring them back to the county in 2022.

They are due to be displayed at Hereford's museum and art gallery when it reopens in 2025, but will be on show for a short time this summer at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre.

George Powell and Layton Davies uncovered the treasures, thought to have included about 300 coins, in 2015 in Eye, near Leominster, and sold them to dealers instead of reporting the find.

They were jailed in 2019, with the court told most of the hoard - valued at anywhere between £3 and £12m - was still missing.

Two others were also jailed for their part in concealing the find.

The treasure, including an octagonal gold ring, is seen as a significant find from the period

Hereford's new museum and art gallery on Broad Street is going through an £18m transformation.

It will become the long-term home for the 1,100 year old treasure.

But Herefordshire Council said a limited number of people would be able to see the hoard at the resource centre on Friars Street, Hereford on 19 July, 12 September and 11 November.

The Herefordshire Hoard includes a beautiful crystal sphere, mounted in a frame of four gold strips, an octagonal gold ring, a gold bracelet featuring an animal head biting its own tail and a collection of ancient coins.