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
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died or were unable to return for other reasons before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards might then be uncovered much later by metal detector hobbyists, members of the public, and archaeologists.
A hoard of silver coins, the latest about 1700 (British Museum).
Treasure of Villena, 1000 BC, the biggest prehistoric gold hoard in Western Europe. Discovered in 1963.