Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The Galloway Hoard, showcased with pride at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, is a truly extraordinary treasure from the Viking Age. This remarkable collection, featuring over 100 objects, including more than 5kg of silver and gold, as well as exquisite materials like glass, crystal, stone, and earthenware from around AD 900, is a marvel to behold.
The Galloway Hoard © National Museums Scotland
Discovered in September 2014 on Church of Scotland land in Kirkcudbrightshire within Dumfries and Galloway, this find has been rightfully celebrated by experts as one of the most significant Viking hoards ever unearthed in Scotland. Its presence greatly enriches our understanding of history and culture. The meticulous way it was buried preserved incredibly rare organic materials such as silk and other textiles. Its unique array of rare objects and ancient heirlooms has profoundly transformed our understanding of the era known as the Viking Age in Scotland.
Since its discovery, various theories have emerged regarding its origins. Some suggest that four different owners may have buried the hoard based on four arm rings inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes found among the items. While three rings feature elements from Old English names, experts remain puzzled by the fourth ring’s inscription due to its lack of a recognizable direct translation.
However, a new theory proposed by the team at National Museums Scotland who have been studying the hoard runs, in translation, “this is the community’s wealth/property”.
“This is another really interesting and significant development in our understanding of the Galloway Hoard. The idea that the wealth this hoard represents would be communally held is fascinating. 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.
Runic inscriptions on the Galloway Hoard © National Museums Scotland
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”, Martin Goldberg from National Museums Scotland said in a press release.
Carved inside the curved half of the arm-ring the runes read: DIS IS ЇIGNA ˑFˑ. The main issue was the word ‘ ЇIGNAF’, which did not correspond to any language spoken in early medieval Britain or Ireland. The discovery that the final rune, F, was marked out with puncts, or dots, to either side, indicating it could be understood as the name of the F-rune itself ‘feoh’ [wealth or property] unlocked the new translation. ‘ ЇIGNA’ could then be interpreted as the Old English word ‘higna’ [community] with the first letter spelled in an unusual but comprehensible way.
The first word also seems to be misspelled if as seems likely it represents “this” – perhaps it was pronounced DIS, much as it would be in some parts of modern Ireland. Despite these apparent spelling (or pronunciation) mistakes, the full inscription can be translated as “this is the community’s wealth/property” with the word ‘higna’ often used elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon documents to indicate a religious community.
“This is a difficult and unusual inscription, and the proposed translation is challenging. 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. And in the context of what can deduce about the Galloway Hoard it becomes really quite compelling,” leading runologist Dr David Parsons (University of Wales) who has previously translated other runic inscriptions from the Galloway Hoard said.
The new finding comes at the conclusion of a three-year research project, Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard, which was supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), led by National Museums Scotland in partnership with the University of Glasgow.
“It has been fascinating to see the succession of significant discoveries over the life of the Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard project, from the exotic origins of some of its star pieces to the presence of named individuals and now this latest exciting discovery.
We’re delighted to have supported this work and in particular welcome the volume of public interest and engagement it has so frequently generated. It serves as a prime example of how the power of arts and humanities research to shine a light on past cultures and the people who lived within them resonates in our own world,” AHRC executive chair Christopher Smith said.
The South Australian Museum in Adelaide will host an international touring exhibition titled “Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard,” opening on Saturday, February 8. This exhibition provides a fascinating insight into how the Hoard was buried in four distinct parcels, each revealing increasingly rich and unusual contents as visitors delve deeper into this ancient world.
Galloway Hoard arm ring with runic inscription in view © National Museums Scotland
The top layer features a parcel of silver bullion and a rare Anglo-Saxon cross, while the lower layer comprises three parts: another larger parcel of silver bullion wrapped in leather; four intricately decorated silver ‘ribbon’ arm-rings concealing a small wooden box with three gold items; and a lidded, silver gilt vessel wrapped in textiles containing carefully curated objects like beads, pendants, brooches, bracelets, relics, and other curios.
Notably, the vessel’s origins trace back to the Sassanian Empire and even to a specific mine in modern-day Iran.
Decoding the secrets of the Galloway Hoard has been an intricate process involving detailed conservation efforts by National Museums Scotland experts. Decorations and inscriptions hidden for over a thousand years have been uncovered through meticulous cleaning and advanced research techniques. Many objects are unique to Britain and Ireland or have traveled great distances to reach Scotland. Some items are too fragile for long-distance travel due to their rare textile traces that have survived over 1000 years.
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To enhance visitor experience, the exhibition will feature audiovisual elements and 3D reconstructions that allow guests to engage with these artifacts while learning about ongoing research efforts.
Further venues for the international tour will be announced in due course, as will plans for the hoard’s future display after the tour’s conclusion, including in Kirkcudbright, near where it was discovered.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
