Terry’s find is biggest Anglo-Saxon hoard

AN amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard ever discovered, a massive collection of gold and silver crosses, sword decorations and other items, British archaeologists said yesterday.

One expert said the treasure would revolutionise understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who ruled England from the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066. Another said the find would rank among Britain’s best-known historic treasures.

“This is just a fantastic find completely out of the blue,” said Roger Bland, who managed the cache’s excavation. “It will make us rethink the Dark Ages.”