Viking find in search for treasure

Published on Tuesday 7 September 2004 11:56

A MAN out on the hunt for buried treasure with his metal detector has unearthed the first Viking burial ground ever to be found in the UK.

Metal detector enthusiast Peter Adams came across the site, which dates back more than 1000 years, when his detector uncovered a pair of copper brooches.

Archaeologists spent months excavating the site in Cumwhitton in Cumbria, which had swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding equipment as well as six graves of Viking men and women.

The only other known Viking cemetery is at Ingleby in Derbyshire.

It was excavated in the 1940s, but experts say the bodies had been cremated and not buried as at the new site.

Mr Adams, who made the find at the end of March, reported it to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which is run by the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council.

Council chairman Mark Wood said: "This is tremendous news, a unique discovery which will improve people’s understanding of the area and its history."