Largest-ever Anglo-Saxon treasure trove discovered in Britain

October 5th, 2009 LONDON - A metal detecting enthusiast has uncovered a brooch and skull in an Oxfordshire field in England, which may belong to a 6th century Saxon princess. According to a report in the Herald Series, the early sixth century skeleton was found in West Hanney, near Wantage, by Chris Bayston from Yorkshire, who picked up a signal at a weekend metal detecting rally at the farm, which is not being named to protect the site.

September 24th, 2009 Huge hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UKLONDON — British archaeological experts say an amateur treasure-hunter has uncovered one of the largest caches of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found. An Anglo-Saxon expert formerly with the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe, Leslie Webster, says the 1,500-piece find is on par with the Book of Kells, one of the best-known illuminated manuscripts in the world.

September 24th, 2009 Huge hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure uncovered in UKLONDON — It's an unprecedented find that could revolutionize ideas about medieval England's Germanic rulers: An amateur treasure-hunter searching a farmer's field with a metal detector unearthed a huge collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver artifacts. The discovery sent a thrill through Britain's archaeological community, which said Thursday that it offers new insight into the world of the Anglo-Saxons, who ruled England from the fifth century until the 1066 Norman invasion and whose cultural influence is still felt throughout the English-speaking world.

September 24th, 2009 Largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UKLONDON — An amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered, a massive collection of gold and silver crosses, sword decorations and other items, British archaeologists said Thursday. One expert said the treasure would revolutionize understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who ruled England from the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066.

September 24th, 2009 BURNTWOOD - The largest ever hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold found near Burntwood in south Staffordshire in July has been officially declared a treasure. According to reports, the haul of more than 1,500 items was found by metal detecting enthusiast Terry Herbert just below the surface of a farmer's field at an undisclosed site.

September 14th, 2009 LONDON - A coroner has declared the discovery of a collection of Roman, Bronze, and Iron Age artifacts discovered in Crow Country, UK, as treasure. The items, which were originally dug up from a site in Ashwell in 2003, include the silver base of a Roman figurine, pieces of armour dating back to the Iron Age, and hundreds of coins and bone fragments.

July 21st, 2009 LONDON - A major exhibition showcasing a treasure trove of never-seen objects owned by the former royals of India is to be launched at London's Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, possibly heralded by a procession of elephants and Rolls Royce cars, museum officials said Tuesday. The exhibition, titled Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts, is to open in October and include objects that have never been seen publicly in India or abroad, including thrones, a Rolls Royce and gem-encrusted weapons.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - An archaeological dig at the heart of Cambridge University, UK, has revealed Roman pottery, medieval remains and 11th Century dog bones. According to a report by BBC News, the dig has been taking place beneath a tearoom in the university's central offices, known as the Old Schools.

June 26th, 2009 LONDON - A housewife in Britain discovered a 15th-century gold treasure depicting the Holy Trinity worth 250,000 pounds - using a metal detector. Mary Hannaby, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, found the relic while on a regular six-hour Sunday detecting walks carrying the instrument with her son Michael, a 33 year-old wood carver.

June 22nd, 2009 Anglo American, Xstrata mull mergerLONDON — Shares in mining company Anglo American PLC jumped nearly 5 percent on Monday after Anglo-Swiss rival Xstrata PLC made a preliminary approach seeking a merger. Xstrata's shares dropped almost 7 percent.

June 18th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Three Australian National University researchers-Alison Booth, Andrew Leigh and Elena Vargonova - have through a study, discovered that Australian employers are racist when they are on a hiring mission. Booth, Leigh and Vargonova said that they sent out 4000 fake job applications to employers advertising on the internet for entry-level hospitality, data entry, customer service and sales jobs, changing only the racial origin of the supposed applicants' names, and they found that applicants with Chinese names fared the worst, having only a one-in-five chance of getting asked in for interviews, compared to applicants with Anglo-Saxon names whose chances exceeded one-in-three.

June 18th, 2009 SYDNEY - Looking for a job during these tough economic times? Job applicants with an Anglo-Saxon name may find it easier to get an interview compared to those with ethnic names, according to new research from the Australian National University. The study was conducted by ANU Professor Alison Booth and Professor Andrew Leigh.

June 8th, 2009 LONDON - The discovery of a sword stud beneath shops in Monmouth, Wales, could be evidence of an Anglo-Saxon period settlement, which might rewrite Welsh history. According to a report in Western Mail, at barely a centimetre across and almost unrecognisable after centuries underground, the stud could shed light on an almost unknown era of Welsh history.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A professor from the University of California, San Diego, has discovered a trove of letters written by Benjamin Franklin. The notes, which have not been seen in more than 250 years, turned up in the British Library.

March 13th, 2009 LONDON - Researchers have revealed the gentle side of Viking warriors, insisting that the Scandinavian invaders - known for raiding and colonizing Britain in the 11th century - were model immigrants who formed harmonious relationships with the natives. From the time they ransacked a priory at Lindisfarne in 793, the Vikings have had a bad press.