In 2009, unemployed Staffordshire man spent 5 days digging and found £3.2 million treasure: What was inside the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever found?

In 2009, a metal detectorist searching an ordinary field in England came across a huge collection of Anglo-Saxon gold, silver and jewellery worth more than £3 million. The trove of at least 1,350 items, including five kilograms of gold and a smaller amount of silver, was found in July by 55 year old Terry Herbert with a metal detector near his home in Burntwood, central England. He was unemployed when he made the stunning discovery.

The initial recovery produced 244 bags of finds and shed light on treasure collection unlike anything previously found in Britain. The discovery was made in July 2009 by unemployed Terry Herbert near Hammerwich in Staffordshire. The study The Staffordshire (Ogley Hay) hoard: recovery of a treasure, published in Antiquity in 2011 by Leahy, Bland, Hooke, Jones and Okasha, records the first days of the find. The hoard was discovered by Terry Herbert between 5th and 10th July 2009 using metal detectors in the arable lands of south Staffordshire. Soon after the find, Terry Herbert contacted Duncan Slarke, Finds Liaison Officer of Staffordshire. Slarke met Terry Herbert at his house and made a provisional inventory of 244 bags of items. It led to the largest Anglo-Saxon archaeological find of all time.

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"This is absolutely phenomenal. When I first saw the material I was absolutely staggered," says Duncan Slarke, finds liaison officer for the county of Staffordshire, who was the first professional to see the hoard. "To see the volume and the quality of this Anglo-Saxon precious metalwork was absolutely stunning and I was literally speechless." "These are the best craftsmen the Anglo-Saxons have got, working with the best materials, and producing incredible results," he says.

After the historic find, archaeologists later excavated around 155 square metres of the field over four weeks and to their surprise, they found that many objects were only a few inches below the ground. Years of farming had disturbed the soil and moved some of the treasure around. The collection became known as the Staffordshire Hoard. It eventually produced more than 4,000 pieces, representing around 700 individual objects. The finds included military equipment, gold ornaments and detailed pieces decorated with tiny red garnets.

Herbert, who spent five days digging up treasure before calling in expert archaeologists, described the day he made the find, including a spooky detail before he set out for his day's detecting. "I have this phrase that I say sometimes; 'spirits of yesteryear take me where the coins appear', but on that day I changed coins to gold," says Herbert, who took up metal detecting as a hobby 18 years ago.

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"I don't know why I said it that day, but I think somebody was listening and directed me to it... This is what metal detectorists dream of, finding stuff like this. But the vast amount there is just unbelievable."

After five days scouring the field with his trusty 14 year old detector, and digging up ever more treasure, his emotions turned to fear at the scale of his find, so he eventually called in the experts. "I was excited when I started digging up the gold, but it was frightening in the end. I was getting frightened about other people getting onto the field, night hawkers," he says. "It was like a burden on my shoulders, it became a worry."

What did the collection contain?

A 2016 study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science described the Staffordshire Hoard as the largest known collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found. Among the treasures were beautifully decorated sword fittings, parts of an elaborate helmet, Christian crosses and other ornaments that had been buried for more than 1,300 years. Many of the objects were linked to wealthy and powerful warriors, giving researchers a glimpse into the skill and wealth of early medieval England.

Most of the treasure dates back to the sixth and seventh centuries, when England was divided into several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The hoard was found in what was then the kingdom of Mercia, one of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and its rulers often fought neighbouring kingdoms for land and power. The collection contains large amounts of gold and silver, including fittings that had been removed from valuable weapons. One particularly interesting piece has a Latin inscription from the Bible asking God to defeat his enemies. It reflects a time when Christianity was spreading across England.

In November 2009, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £3.285 million. The money was divided equally between Terry Herbert and the landowner, Fred Johnson. A public fundraising campaign later helped museums in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent acquire the collection.

Why was such a huge treasure buried?

But the biggest mysteries surrounding the Staffordshire Hoard was that why such a huge collection of treasure was buried. Researchers still do no have any answer that who buried the treasure or why. While some archaeologists believe it could have been battlefield spoils or wealth hidden during a period of conflict, others pointed out it may have been deliberately buried as an offering.

There were no buildings, graves or clear signs of a battle at the site. Researchers also found that many valuable weapon fittings had been forcibly removed from their original objects. This has led to questions about whether some of the items were trophies taken from defeated warriors.

Research suggests that much of the treasure was buried between AD 650 and 675, but its exact origin remains unclear. Today, the Staffordshire Hoard continues to help researchers understand the warfare, religion, wealth and craftsmanship of Anglo-Saxon England.