Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard

Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard presents one of the most exciting archaeological finds this century, and the richest and most varied trove of Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland. Discovered in 2014 in south-west Scotland, the Hoard had lain buried for over a thousand years. Now, at the end of a decade of conservation and research centred at National Museums Scotland, this treasure has transformed our understanding of the medieval world.

Full of unexpected twists and turns, this exhibition recreates this journey of discovery into the Hoard. It opens by situating the visitor in time and place – the world of 900AD, a critical moment in history when Viking raiders ransacked Europe and the nations we now know as Scotland, England and Ireland were just beginning to take form. But as the visitor continues through the exhibition, uncovering the Hoard layer by layer just like those who discovered it in 2014, it becomes clear that these objects are taking us beyond the shores of Scotland to mainland Europe, central Asia and the Silk Road.

Large-scale photography, film, interactive digital models and expressive design play an integral role in offering close-up views of minute hidden details and bringing the visitor into the process of discovery along with the researchers and scientists. Visitors can watch as a rare Anglo-Saxon cross is unveiled from centuries of dirt, as material analysis traces the location silver was mined, and as runic inscriptions are translated and decoded. Underneath it all an intriguing picture emerges – of an interconnected world, where cultures mingled, communities evolved and real people made, traded, treasured and buried the Galloway Hoard, over a thousand years ago.

To support our partner venues in making the most of hosting the Galloway Hoard at their museum, the exhibition hire package includes:

• The loan of objects from National Museums Scotland’s Scottish History & Archaeology collection
• The object display mounts
• Collections crating
• The services of our couriers to install and de-install collections
• Curation and exhibition concept
• Exhibition text (in English)
• A selection of audio-visual films and interactive software commissioned for the exhibition and updated for the international tour (in English)
• Online access to a selection of 3D digital models of the Galloway Hoard
• Project management, including the services of an experienced project manager onsite during exhibition install and de-install
• A design toolkit from the NMS Design Studio, including colour palettes, design motifs, artwork, object layouts and other supporting assets, with the visitor experience and accessibility at the heart of the design ethos
•  License to re-use a selection of exhibition artwork, images  and graphics within the exhibition
• Press, marketing and digital toolkit with a collaborative approach to asset-sharing
• Support from a leading curatorial specialist around the exhibition launch period
• An educational support and handling kit complete with bespoke-made reproductions of some of the objects from the Galloway Hoard

Also available by separate negotiation are:

• An exhibition book written by the lead project researchers and published by National Museums Scotland Enterprise, recently updated for the international tour
• License to use specially-commissioned merchandise designs, for adaptation to your own requirements