Treasure from Mercia

BBC News: Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found.

The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried beneath a field in Staffordshire.  Experts said the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date back to the 7th Century, was unparalleled in size.  It has been declared treasure by South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, meaning it belongs to the Crown. Terry Herbert, who found it on farmland using a metal detector, said it "was what metal detectorists dream of".  It may take more than a year for it to be valued.

Five kilograms of gold and 2.5kg of silver, 1500 pieces in total and far more than the 1.5kg of gold found at Sutton Hoo in 1939. It's going to be valued and the money passed on to the finder and the landowner, who are friends.  The hoard includes sword pommel caps and hilt shields inlaid with gems.  It is almost all weapon fittings, and no jewellry, and they're guessing its value is in the seven figures.

A second article in the BBC News talks more about what was found: Hoard shines light on Dark Ages, including a map of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms.  The treasure was found in what would have been Mercia, though the region is named differently in Modern Britain.  The kingdom of Wessex only exists as a pseudonym for Dorset in Thomas Hardy's novels, but East Anglia, Northumbria and Kent are still in use.