The Galloway Hoard National Tour

Bringing together the richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland, the internationally significant Galloway Hoard is transforming our understanding of Scotland’s connections with the wider world during this period.

The Hoard was buried around AD 900 and contains over 100 diverse objects, from silver, gold and jewelled treasures to rarely surviving textiles, including wool, linen and Scotland’s earliest examples of silk.

Discovered by a metal detectorist in Dumfries and Galloway in 2014, the Hoard was allocated to National Museums Scotland in 2017, when a selection of items went on display as part of successful fundraising campaign supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund to save it for the nation. With generous public support, an intensive programme of conservation and research is now underway, uncovering the secrets of the Hoard for the very first time.

This free exhibition ran from 28 May to 12 September 2021 at the National Museum of Scotland, providing visitors with a view of the recently cleaned and conserved objects from the Hoard which reveal intricate decoration not seen since the objects' burial more than 1,000 years ago.

Visitors were able to delve deeper and examine hidden details found in X-rays, CT scans and 3D models. The exhibition uncovered what innovative research and analysis has already told us about the Hoard, and explored what future work might yet reveal about this unparalleled Viking-age find.

With support from the Scottish Government, the exhibition then went on tour to Kirkcudbright Galleries (9 October 2021 to 10 July 2022) and Aberdeen Art Gallery (30 July to 23 October 2022).