Saxon Gold, Saved for the Nation

Good news. Three weeks ahead of schedule, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, has been secured for the nation, or rather the West Midlands. The enthusiasm generated by the discovery has been demonstrated both in financial donations and in the visitor numbers at displays of the Hoard in Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and at the British Museum. Those who live in the vicinity of Lichfield, birthplace of another Staffordshire treasure, Samuel Johnson, can see a documentary Saxon Gold: Finding the Hoard, which is being shown in the city’s cathedral this Friday at 7.30pm; all proceeds to the fund. The rest of us can see it on the National Geographic channel on Sunday or on Channel 4 in early April.