Staffordshire Hoard – Unique window into Anglo Saxon England

The discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard – now jointly owned by Birmingham and Stoke on Trent Councils – began new and exciting research into the so-called “Dark Ages.”

Including more than 4 000 objects – many of them gold or silver – has brought to life the kings, warriors and craftsmen portrayed in the epic poem “Beowulf”.

Pieta Greaves, the Conservation Co-ordinator of the Hoard, chose a beautiful gold seax handle from all of these treasures. She tells Mike Gibbs, Publisher of History West Midlands, how this object reveals new insights into the world of the Anglo Saxon warrior.

KEYWORDS: Staffordshire Hoard, Anglo Saxons, Mercia, Warriors, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, BMAG, Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Books