Experts may have solved a mystery linked to treasure from the Viking Age

The Galloway Hoard includes more than 100 items including gold and silver

A collection of more than 100 items from the Viking Age was first discovered back in 2014, but exactly who owned it has proven to be a bit of a mystery - until now.

The group of items, known as the Galloway Hoard, contains lots of different materials including gold and silver.

It's now thought the writing on one of the hoard's arm rings, which was inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes or letters, may shed some light on who might have owned the Galloway Hoard, according to experts.

A number of theories about the origins of the hoard have been put forward, with some suggestions it might have been buried by four different owners because of the four separate arm rings.

Each of the arm rings has writing on it and three of the four inscriptions appear to have names connected to the Old English language.

However, the fourth and longest inscription has baffled experts, and for a long time remained unreadable as there was no recognisable direct translation.

Experts struggled to translate the inscription on one of the arm rings from the collection

Researchers at National Museums Scotland (NMS) who have been studying the hoard have now put forward a new possible translation for the fourth inscription.

They believe it says: 'This is the community's wealth/property', suggesting the special group of items actually belonged to the whole community.

Martin Goldberg from the NMS said the translation marked a "significant development in our understanding of the Galloway Hoard."

"The idea that the wealth this hoard represents would be communally held is fascinating," he said.

"It does still leave us with unanswered questions around the circumstances in which a community's wealth would come to be buried, and also which particular community.

"Some material within the hoard, such as the pectoral cross and the rock crystal jar made for a Bishop Hyguald, would support this being a religious community."

The hoard contains four arm rings

So why did the translation of the inscription on the arm ring prove so difficult?

"This is a difficult and unusual inscription, and the proposed translation is challenging," said runologist Dr David Parsons from the University of Wales who has previously translated other runic inscriptions from the hoard.

"There are a number of things which are technically 'wrong' when we compare it with what we know about 'correct' runic writing.

"However, if we think about both spoken and written English today, there are a huge range of regional and idiomatic variations and, if we allow for this, then it becomes possible to accept this as a plausible reading."

He also believes the translation put forward could make sense when thinking about what we already know about the Galloway Hoard.

The arm ring at the centre of the new discovery will soon be on display at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide as part of a new international touring exhibition which opens on Saturday.