This is Lichfield

AN ANCIENT silver ingot dating back more than 1,000 years has been discovered by a treasure hunter in Shenstone, it was revealed this week.

Experts at the British Museum have now examined the find and disclosed that it is Viking in origin and contains around 95 per cent silver.

The cigar-shaped item, with rounded ends and weighing in at almost 2oz (52.9g), is the latest treasure revealed to have been unearthed near Lichfield, following the discovery of a gold Anglo Saxon hoard last year.

The ingot has a pitted appearance, having been hammered flat, and a pattern on its surface appears to have been rubbed away, a treasure trove inquest heard on Monday.

X-ray fluorescence analysis determined it contained small amounts of copper, lead and gold.

Tom Brindle, archeological finds liaison officer at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, said: "The ingot is of the Viking period, and similar items have been found in Scandinavia and across Europe."

Because the ingot is more than 300 years old, and because of its high concentration of precious metal, it was officially declared as treasure at the inquest.

Coroner Andrew Haigh said: "It dates from around the 10th century, possibly the 9th century, so it is many hundreds of years old. It has been subjected to detailed investigation."

He added: "The British Museum will now value the item to see whether it can be purchased by interested institutions."

It is believed the ingot may have originally been used as currency. The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Stoke-on-Trent, has expressed an interest in obtaining the item for display.

The finder and landowner were not present at the hearing.

The ingot was found less than five miles from the recently discovered Staffordshire Hoard, a collection of 1,800 mainly gold and some silver artefacts, found in a farmer's field in Hammerwich by metal detectorist Terry Herbert.

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