A hoard of Viking gold and silver
artifacts dating back over 1,000 years has been
discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector
in Scotland, in a find hailed by experts as one of the
country's most significant.
Derek McLennan, a retired businessman, uncovered
the 100 items in a field in Dumfriesshire, southwest
Scotland, in September.

Amongst the objects is a solid silver cross thought to
date from the 9th or 10th century, a silver pot of west
European origin, which is likely to have already been
100 years old when it was buried and several gold
objects.
"Experts have begun to examine the finds, but it is
already clear that this is one of the most significant
Viking hoards ever discovered in Scotland," Scotland's
Treasure Trove unit said in a statement.
The Viking hoard is McLennan's second significant
contribution to Scotland's understanding of its past.
Last year, he and a friend unearthed around 300
medieval coins in the same area of Scotland.
"The Vikings were well known for having raided these
shores in the past, but today we can appreciate what
they have left behind," said Scotland's secretary for
cultural and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop.
The Vikings, of Scandinavian origin, made successive
raids on Britain from the 8th to the 11th centuries,
burying their valuables for safe-keeping, which have
gradually been discovered by generations of treasure
seekers.
A 10th-century Viking hoard was found in 2007 in
northern England, while in 1840 over 8,600 items were
found in northwest England.
The latest find, also containing a rare silver cup
engraved with animals which dates from the Holy
Roman Empire, and a gold bird pin, is the largest to be
found in Scotland since 1891 and could be worth a six-
figure sum, the BBC said.