Fool’s Gold - The inside story of the Herefordshire Viking Hoard
Dr Gareth Williams studied history at the universities of St Andrews and Bergen. He specialises in the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and has been an expert witness in criminal trials regarding antiquities and Viking hoards - notably in the Herefordshire Viking Hoard investigation.
In 2015, metal detectorists uncovered an important hoard of Viking gold and silver near Leominster in Herefordshire. Rather than declare it as Treasure according to the law, they quickly attempted to sell it on the black market. As told in the BBC podcast Fool’s Gold, investigations by police and heritage professionals led to the recovery of some of the hoard, and to the arrest and imprisonment of the finders and some of their accomplices. This lecture, by one of the leading experts involved in the case, tells the story of that investigation, and also explains why this hoard was so important - literally changing the history of England
