more (at source): The hoard – which includes a silver cup estimated to be worth more than £200,000, as well as 617 coins and various silver fragments, ingots and rings, will go on display in both York and in the capital after careful conservation work which began a month ago.

Experts hope the process will reveal crucial details about the Viking era. Initial examinations suggest the treasure dates to 927 or 928. Conservation experts have already revealed remarkable insights: the cup, which has been gilded inside and out, is most likely to have belonged in a church, with vines decorating its exterior – a Viking symbol of Christ. Some of the coins shed new light on the period – parts of Britain such as Staffordshire and Yorkshire were already believed lost by the Vikings and under Anglo-Saxon dominion, yet there are coins which show the Vikings were still creating their own currency in these regions. One such coin, with the word "Rorivacastr" on it, is believed to have originated from