News Story

The Galloway Hoard is the richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland.

Nothing like this has ever been found in Scotland . . . research so far is pointing to a new understanding of Scotland in the international context of the earliest Viking Age.

Dr Martin Goldberg, Principal Curator of Medieval Archaeology and History

The Galloway Hoard was discovered by a metal-detectorist in 2014. It was found on what is now Church of Scotland land at Balmaghie in Kirkcudbrightshire. The Hoard was allocated to National Museums Scotland in 2017. Following a successful fundraising campaign supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Artfund, the Hoard was saved for the nation.

Buried around AD 900, the Galloway Hoard brings together a stunning variety of materials and treasures from Ireland, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and as far away as Asia. The Hoard transports us back to a critical movement in history: the formation of the political entities we now know as Scotland, England and Ireland, in a time of Viking raids.