Staffordshire Hoard exhibition coming to Shropshire
Replicas of the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found will go on display in Shropshire later this month.
The Staffordshire Hoard, more than 3,500 items of treasure, was discovered in a field close to the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, in 2009.
A touring exhibition telling the story of how the hoard was found and saved for the nation will be on the balcony at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery from March 17 to May 17.
The exhibition, "Treasure" , is aimed at both adults and children.
On April 11 and 12 the museum will be playing host to a troop of Anglo-Saxon re-enactors demonstrating techniques from weaving to manuscript writing, and talking about life in the 6th-7th centuries.
Craft demonstrations will include tablet-weaving and pressblech-foil making – a technique used to make some items in the Staffordshire Hoard.
Visitors will see a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon warrior grave display and part of the museum will become a micro Anglo-Saxon encampment for the weekend.
This drop-in event is run in association with The Thegns of Mercia (www.thegns.org), a not-for-profit educational living-history and reconstructive archaeology group based in the Midlands. The group specialises in reconstructing finds from 449-1066 AD, promoting learning about historic cultures from this age, and bringing this historic period to life.
