Unusually for this website, there is another entirely different point that can be drawn from the Staffordshire Hoard, in addition to comparisons of Britain’s approach to saving artefacts for the nation.

This news story illustrates very well, the benefits of proper, well documented excavations – since the original hoard was discovered, many other finds have been made nearby & archaeologists are analysing whether these are a part of the same hoard or somehow connected to it. Much of the knowledge that we gain from these finds would have been lost though, if archaeologists had not known the full details of the previous finds on the site. When illegal excavations are made, not only do the artefacts normally disappear into a black market away from the public eye, but even if they are eventually recovered, little is known about exactly where they were found, or what other items might have been found in close proximity to them.

From:
BBC News

18 December 2012 Last updated at 16:38
Staffordshire Hoard: ‘Shedding light on the Dark Ages’

“The period is traditionally called the Dark Ages because we don’t know enough about it, but finds like this can definitely shed some light on that period,” says archaeologist Steve Dean.

He works for Staffordshire County Council and was part of a team that uncovered 90 new items of gold and silver believed to be part of the Staffordshire Hoard.
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