<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2722.900" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2><BR></FONT></DIV><TT><A
href="http://www.thisishertfordshire.co.uk/news/stalbans/display.var.440457.0.experts_study_viking_find.php">http://www.thisishertfordshire.co.uk/news/stalbans/display.var.440457.0.experts_study_viking_find.php</A><BR><BR>Experts
study Viking find<BR>By Susan Nowak<BR>A GILDED 10th Century Viking sword hilt
thought to be of national importance<BR>is due to be taken to the British
Museum on Thursday, December 11, by<BR>Verulamium Museum's first finds liaison
officer.<BR>Archaeologist Julian Watters' new job, covering all of
Hertfordshire and<BR>Bedfordshire, is to identify finds brought in by members
of the public and<BR>date them to go on a national website of historical
treasures under the new<BR>Portable Antiquities scheme funded by the Heritage
Lottery.<BR>Among the first handed in is an artistically worked sword hilt
discovered in<BR>north Hertfordshire.<BR>Mr Watters had planned to take it to
the experts last week, but Verulamium<BR>Museum is carrying out urgent
conservation work on it first.<BR>"It's been knocked around by the the plough
for more than 1,000 years and<BR>still it has survived in this condition," he
said.<BR>"To actually find something made by a Viking is fairly rare. The
British<BR>Museum's Viking department are keen to look at it so it's probably
of<BR>national importance."<BR>Part of Mr Watters' new role is to persuade
people to bring in finds they<BR>make, often using metal detectors. He says
people fear artefacts they dig up<BR>will be confiscated by the state, and
that's not the case.<BR>He said: "They are always given back to the people
who've brought them in.<BR>Obviously a lot of the finds are junk items but if
something is of historic<BR>value then a museum might offer to buy it, though
the finder is not obliged<BR>to sell."<BR>In the six weeks since he started
his job he has also been brought a<BR>decorative Roman manicure set in bronze
and green enamel, around 1,800 years<BR>old, and a Roman "thistle" brooch of
bronze with gilding used to fasten a<BR>toga.<BR>He's also got temporary
custody of a 17th Century cannonball found near<BR>Hitchin and a prehistoric
flint axe that is probably 5,000 years old, which<BR>he says is "basically the
original axe, used for chopping trees."<BR>Mr Watters is holding an open day
at Verulamium Museum on January 24 when he<BR>hopes the public will bring in
interesting finds and he's giving a "hands on<BR>history" talk there two days
later to explain the scheme.<BR>If you come across anything interesting you
would like him to identify you<BR>can contact him on 01727 751826 or e-mail
j.watters@stalbans.gov.uk.<BR><BR></TT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>