The Mercian Trail is the name given to a group of museums and historical sites in the West Midlands of England that will be used to display objects from the Staffordshire Hoard. The trail is organised by a partnership of Lichfield District, Tamworth Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council, and features the following locations:Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Lichfield Cathedral
Tamworth Castle
Tamworth Castle
A sword hilt fitting from the Staffordshire Hoard Gold with cloisonné garnet inlay
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments, amounting to a total of 5.1 kg (11 lb) of gold, 1.4 kg (3 lb) of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery.
It is described by the historian Cat Jarman as "possibly the finest collection of early medieval artefacts ever discovered".
A selection of highlight pieces from the Staffordshire Hoard (top) and a gold sword hilt fitting with cloisonné garnet inlay (below), uncleaned by conservators, still showing traces of soil
Image: Flickr portableantiquities Hilt Fitting
Assorted uncleaned gold fittings, three with cloisonné gold and garnet.
Sword fitting with garnet