Galloway Hoard to begin international tour

Buried around AD 900 and discovered in 2014, the Galloway Hoard contains a stunning variety of objects and materials buried together at one time. This will be the first time that material from the hoard has been seen outside of the UK. To mark the news, new images have been released showing the full hoard pictured in its entirety for the first time since it was unearthed a decade ago. 

Dr. Martin Goldberg, Principal Curator, Medieval Archaeology & History, National Museums Scotland, said: “The Galloway Hoard has repeatedly drawn international attention since its discovery and acquisition by National Museums Scotland.”  

“But this hoard was in many respects a journey into the unknown, and the exhibition presents all the amazing discoveries we have made through our research. We’re delighted the exhibition can now be seen by audiences outside the UK, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience these exceptional objects in person.” 

Dr. David Gaimster, CEO, South Australian Museum, said: “The Galloway Hoard is a rich collection in every sense, from rare and unique examples of gold and silverwork that shows the artistry of the period to items of hacked bullion that show the intensity of trade and exchange. Taken together, this hoard challenges popular understandings of this period in world history. Indeed, the Hoard reveals the extensive networks of trade and exchange that stretched from Scandinavia and the Atlantic across to Central Asia and the Silk Routes.  

“We are delighted to partner with National Museums Scotland to bring the Galloway Hoard halfway across the globe for Australian audiences to experience up close – a turn of events the Hoard’s original owners could scarcely have imagined.” 

The exhibition shows how the Hoard was buried in four distinct parcels and as the visitor is drawn further into this ancient world each parcel becomes richer and more unusual. The top layer was a parcel of silver bullion and a rare Anglo-Saxon cross, separated from a lower layer of three parts: firstly, another parcel of silver bullion wrapped in leather and twice as big as the one above; secondly, a cluster of four elaborately decorated silver ‘ribbon’ arm-rings bound together and concealing in their midst a small wooden box containing three items of gold; and thirdly, a lidded, silver gilt vessel wrapped in layers of textile and packed with carefully wrapped objects that appear to have been curated like relics or heirlooms. They include beads, pendants, brooches, bracelets, relics and other curios, often strung or wrapped with silk. 

Decoding the secrets of the Galloway Hoard has also been a multi-layered process. Decorations, inscriptions, and other details hidden for over a thousand years have been revealed through careful conservation, painstaking cleaning, and cutting-edge research by a team of experts led by National Museums Scotland. Conservation of metal objects has revealed decorations, inscriptions, and other details that were not previously visible.  

Many of the objects are types that have never been seen before in Britain and Ireland. Some had travelled thousands of miles to reach Scotland. Some items are too fragile to travel long distances, particularly those which still have rare traces of textiles that have survived for more than 1000 years. The exhibition will employ audio visual and 3D reconstructions to enable visitors to experience these objects and learn more about the detailed research that is being done. 

The Galloway Hoard was acquired by National Museums Scotland in 2017 with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, and the Scottish Government, as well as a major public fundraising campaign. Since then, it has been undergoing extensive conservation and research at the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh. 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. 

Ongoing research is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which awarded £1 million for the three-year research project *Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard*, led by National Museums Scotland in partnership with the University of Glasgow. The project has also seen collaboration with experts from across the UK and Ireland, including The British Museum, Oxford University, University of Wales (Trinity St David), St Andrews University, and University College Cork.