Secrets of Viking treasure revealled in talk at Preston's Harris museum

Dr Fiona Edmonds, from Lancaster University, will take a closer look at the Silverdale and Cuerdale Hoards.

A spokesman said: “By examining their historical context, we’ll explore some of the stories and secrets of these significant Viking treasures.

“The Silverdale Hoard is currently on display in the Fearsome Craftsmen exhibition on the second floor of the Harris and 88 coins from the Cuerdale Hoard are displayed in the first floor Discover Preston gallery.”

The Cuerdale Hoard was discovered on 15 May 1840 when workmen repairing the south embankment of the River Ribble at Cuerdale discovered the greatest silver Viking treasure ever found in Britain.

At over 8,500 items, it is the largest silver hoard found in Europe. It contained around 7,500 coins and 1,000 silver objects including rings, ingots, amulets, chains, and cut-up brooches and armlets – known as hack silver.

They were found inside the remains of a lead-lined chest, with five bone pins, which may have fastened cloth bags containing the silver.

It was metal detectorist Darren Webster who found the Silverdale Hoard in September 2011 in a container in a field near Silverdale.

Inside the container were dozens of silver objects, with five large silver arm rings lying underneath it.

This collection of objects - dated to around AD 910 - is the third largest Viking silver hoard found in England to date. It consists of more than 200 pieces, including 10 arm rings, 27 coins, two finger rings, 14 ingots and a mass of fragments of silver jewellery.