The Viking Archaeology Blog is concerned with news reports featuring Viking period archaeology. It was primarily constructed as a source for the University of Oxford Online Course in Viking Archaeology: Vikings: Raiders, Traders and Settlers. For news reports for general European archaeology, go to The Archaeology of Europe News Blog.
Friday, 22 November 2019
Viking treasure thieves who stole hoard worth £12m with metal detectors are jailed
Metal detectorists George Powell and Layton Davies have been jailed at Worcester Crown Court for stealing a Viking treasure hoard, worth up to £12 million.
The pair failed to declare the "invaluable" and "emblematic" collection of buried coins and jewellery, which date back 1,100 years.
Powell, 38, who was described as having the "leading" role, was jailed for 10 years while Davies, 51, a former caretaker, received eight-and-a-half years behind bars.
The items, many of which were Anglo Saxon but are typical of a Viking burial hoard, were dug up on Herefordshire farmland on June 2, 2015.
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