Scottish museum chosen as home of Britain's biggest ever haul of Viking treasure

The biggest ever collection of rare and unique objects from the Viking age ever found in Britain has been given a new permanent home at Scotland's national museum in Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth's official representative in Scotland told National Museums Scotland (NMS) Friday that it must make a payment within six months of 1.98 million pounds (2.56 million U.S. dollars) to the man who discovered the buried treasure.

Using a metal detector, he unearthed the treasure in the Dumfries and Galway area that had been buried for 1,000 years.

Known as the Galloway Hoard, the collection was described by NMS as unparalleled find of Viking-age gold, silver and jewelled treasures.

A spokesman for NMS said: "The hoard, which brings together the richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland, is of international significance and will transform our understanding of this period of Scottish history."

"The Galloway Hoard is of outstanding international significance. We now have six months to raise 1.98 million pounds to acquire this unique treasure for the nation and ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations both at home and abroad," said NMS director Gordon Rintoul.

Dr. Martin Goldberg, senior curator of Early Medieval and Viking Collections at NMS, said: "Nothing like this has ever been found in Scotland. The stories it can tell will expand our knowledge of the Viking Age."

NMS, which runs the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, wants a selection of the find to be displayed at the Kirkcudbright Art Gallery, close to where it was discovered. Endit