Furness Viking Hoard on display until mid July at the Dock Museum

In Easter 2011 a locally-based metal detectorist made a very unexpected find: Viking treasure.

It is the first time that a significant amount of valuable Viking booty has been recovered from the Furness soil that indisputably links the area with the Norse mariners, and local history stands to be re-written as a result.

The hoard is on display for one month only.

The 92 silver coins and artefacts – among them ingots and one near-complete silver bracelet – have been examined by the British Museum. It is thought that the silver was put into the ground sometime around 955 AD when the Viking invaders had established footholds in the north of England.