Resource created by Leeds Museums and Galleries Discovery Centre, in collaboration with Emily Sanderson.

Delve into the West Yorkshire Hoard - one of the most signifiant medieval archaeological finds in the Leeds area.

A Global View:

Also during this period, Muhammed's journey to Medina (Hegira) to escape persecution in Mecca marked the start of the Islamic calendar (622), Byzantine Emperor Leo III banned religious images, beginning the Iconoclast Movement (726), and the world's oldest surviving printed book was printed in China (868).

Curriculum Links

• KS2 History:  Britain's settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots.
• KS2 Art & Design: The work ofa range of artists and craft makers.

Discussion Ideas

• What things make a piece of jewellery more or less valuable?
• In the medieval period, jewellery was often used to show wealth.  What kinds of objects and possessions do people use today to show how rich they are?
• Do you think it’s right that people have to ask landowner permission to carry out metal detecting on their land?
• Do you think that anyone should be allowed to metal detect, or should it be more strongly regulated?
• What do you think happened to the hoard?
• Why do you think someone might hide their valuables and never come back for them?

Activity Ideas

• Design your own jewellery or amulets based on medieval designs.  Use the information sheet on the properties of various gems in medieval times to help you.
• Draw a collection of things that are precious to you, which you would hide in a hoard.  Write a note to put with your hoard, to explain why you are burying these items - what are you protecting them from, or what personal situation has made you feel like you need to bury them?
• Create a comic strip or animation that tells the story of the hoard.  Think about:
  • Who owned it
  • Why they buried it
  • What happened to them which meant they couldn't come back for it.
  • How the hoard was then discovered
  • See this animation about the discovery of a Viking ring for inspiration.