Final months to uncover the mystery of the Viking Age at Melbourne Museum

Time is running out for Melburnians to experience one of the most extraordinary archaeological exhibitions to ever reach Australian shores, with Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard continuing at Melbourne Museum until January 26, 2026.

Described by researchers as one of the most significant Viking Age discoveries of this century, the Galloway Hoard offers a rare glimpse into the lives, artistry and global connections of people living more than 1000 years ago.

Discovered by metal detectorists in southwest Scotland in 2014, the hoard was buried around 900 AD and contains more than 100 precious objects – including gold and silver jewellery, heirlooms, glass beads, textiles, and even a vessel traced to Central Asia.

According to Dr Adrián Maldonado, Galloway Hoard Researcher at National Museums Scotland, the collection stands apart not only for its scale – more than five kilograms of gold and silver – but for its diversity of materials.

“While it looks like a typical ‘Viking hoard’, the more we learned about it, the more it revealed itself as a window into the Viking Age – but from the British perspective,” he told CBD News.

Four silver arm rings found within the hoard carry Anglo-Saxon runic inscriptions, including one interpreted as “This is the community’s wealth”. These clues suggest the hoard may have been assembled not just by Scandinavian Vikings, but by Anglo-Saxon Northumbrians, reflecting the complex multicultural networks that connected Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia during the early medieval period.

“By the year 900, these Vikings were not just Scandinavians, but a multilingual, multicultural population,” Dr Maldonado said. “The hoard tells us that the ‘community’ behind this wealth likely included local Northumbrians, alongside Scandinavians and Gaels from Ireland.”

The exhibition unfolds the story of the hoard in four stages, mirroring how it was originally buried and later excavated. Visitors journey from the upper “decoy” layer – containing more common items like arm rings and ingots – to the precious final layer, where rare textiles and gold ornaments were carefully wrapped in silk and linen and sealed inside a silver-lidded vessel.

Conserved bird pin from the Galloway Hoard. ©National Museums Scotland

The interactive 3D displays and video reconstructions reveal the painstaking conservation process undertaken since 2017. Scientists discovered more than a dozen textile fragments – including the earliest confirmed silk found in Scotland – along with leather bags, wool wrappings and intricately braided bindings that preserved the treasures beneath.

“The exhibition is designed to take visitors on the same journey of discovery we’ve been on over the past decade,” Dr Maldonado said. 

For Tim Rolfe, director of exhibitions and experiences at Melbourne Museum, the Galloway Hoard is much more than a glittering collection of artefacts.

“It invites us to consider universal questions,” he said. “Why did people choose to bury these objects? How did items from as far away as Central Asia and the Middle East find their way to Scotland? And what kind of world were people experiencing 1000 years ago?”

While visitors will find themselves captivated by the golden bird pin – an exquisite piece whose delicate form hints at a phoenix or flamingo – Rolfe said the “true hero” of the exhibition is the story itself.

“Every object in the hoard has a story to tell, and we encourage visitors to take their time to experience each of them,” he said.

Melbourne is the second stop on the Galloway Hoard’s international tour, offering local audiences a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these artefacts before they return overseas.

“This exhibition is a rare chance to stand face-to-face with objects that connect us to a world at once distant and familiar,” Rolfe said. “The craftsmanship is extraordinary, but what lingers is the sense of humanity – people who, like us, wanted to preserve what mattered most.”

Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard runs until January 26, 2026, at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson St, Carlton. Tickets are available online and at the museum.