Anglo-Saxons launch Staffordshire Hoard display in Birmingham

Article in Birmingham Mail On 17th October 2014: Anglo-Saxon warriors helped bring to life a new permanent display of the world-famous Staffordshire Hoard in Birmingham today. Dressed head to toe in chain mail and brandishing swords and shields, the clan formed part of an eye-catching bid to promote the new exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. A gallery has now been dedicated to the largest ever discovery of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver allowing the museum to increase its collection from 200 to 400 pieces. Exhibitions manager Andy Horn said he was confident the new gallery would bring more visitors to the museum. “We’ve had a half-a-million visitors to the Hoard since it was displayed in 2009 so we know how much interest there is in it,” he said. “The Hoard has become one of our most popular displays with 45 per cent of our visitors coming specifically to see it. “With even more objects on show now, I’m confident it will be really successful and attract even more people. “The idea is that we change some of the objects as we find out new things about them. “Because we have so many repeat visitors, it’s an opportunity for us to show them more new objects when they next come.”