MHG2903 - Croy Hoard
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- FINDSPOT (Late C9 AD, Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
Centred 7950 4936.
The Croy hoard was discovered in two parts:
Part One was found within a square yard by a girl planting potato drills in the spring of 1875 and was brought to the NMAS in May, 1875. It consists of a silver penannular brooch, dated by R A Smith (A O Curle 1939) to circa 820 AD.; part of a band of knitted silver wire; a silver penny of Coenwulf, King of Mercia AD 796-821; by the moneyer Eanmund; two glass and two amber beads and part of a bronze balance beam, which may possibly be dated to the 8th century (Megaw 1940). At least one other coin and a few more beads were found but were lost by the original finder.
Part two was found by Mr James Shearer, Mains of Croy, in 1875 or 1876 and consisted of a portion of one, and almost half of another, silver penannular brooch; one amber and two glass beads; and a coin originally thought also to be of Coenwolf but re-attributed, quite definitely, by C E Blunt to Athelwulf, King of Wessex AD. 839-858, and is by the moneyer Deineah.
Both parts of the hoard are in NMAS.
The find-spot is about half a mile from Croy Ph Church, on Mains of Croy farm, near the road from Croy (NH 79 49) to Dalcross Castle (NH 77 48) on the summit of a low gravelly ridge, in a field first cultivated circa 1864 AD.
T Fraser and J Anderson 1876; J Anderson 1881; A Ross 1886; A O Curle 1939; C E Blunt 1952; B R S Megaw 1940.
According to Miss Cameron (Moss Cottage, Croy, Inverness-shire) the Croy Hoard was found in the field of Clach na Sanais (NH74NE 11) many years ago. At the time of the find the Laird of Cantray had a replica made of of the silver penannular brooch, which he presented to his daughter on her wedding day. Miss Cameron asserts that there used to be a low gravelly ridge in this field, which is now pasture, and also at the bottom of the field there is a swampy area known as the Moss of Croy, in which another silver brooch of identical pattern and shape as the previous penannular brooch was found "many years ago" by a man digging peat (Information from Mrs MacLennan, Roy Cottage, Croy, Inverness-shire). (There may be some confusion about this last statement by Mrs MacLennan - Miss Cameron being the more reliable authority)
Visited by OS (R B) 21 August 1964.
The hoard is in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland (Acc. Nos.: FC 12-25).
The hoard was photographed when on loan and on display at IMAG for the ARCH Ardersier and Hilton Local Heritage Project. <1>
See also <2>
Sources/Archives (14)
- --- SHG1235 Text/Publication/Article: Fraser and Anderson, T and J. 1876. 'Notice of a find of silver ornaments, &c., at Croy, Inverness-shire, now presented to the museum. With notes, descriptive pf the object', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 11 1874-6, p.588-92. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 588-92. 588-92; illust.
- --- SHG1272 Text/Publication/Article: Ross, A. 1886. 'Notice of the discovery of portions of two penannular brooches of silver, with beads of glass and amber, and a silver coin of Coenwulf, King of Mercia (AD 795-818), at Mains of Croy, Inverness-shire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 20 1885-6, p.91-6. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 91-6. 91-6; illust.
- --- SHG1645 Text/Publication/Article: Blunt, C E. 1952. 'The date of the Croy hoard', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 84 1949-50, p.217. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 217. 211.
- --- SHG2295 Text/Publication/Volume: Grieg, S. 1940. Viking antiquities in Scotland. 193-4.
- --- SHG2300 Text/Publication/Volume: Guido, M. 1978. The glass beads of the prehistoric and Roman periods in Britain and Ireland. 195.
- --- SHG2815 Text/Publication/Volume: Small, A, Thomas, C & Wilson, D M. 1973. St Ninian's Isle and its treasure. 82, 89, 92, 93, 100, 102, 148; pl. xxxviii.
- --- SHG28278 Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. FC 12-25.
- --- SHG284 Text/Publication/Article: Graham-Campbell, J. 1975. 'Bossed penannular brooches: a review of recent research', Medieval Archaeol Vol. 19 1975, p.33-47. Medieval Archaeol. 33-47. 43.
- --- SHG2898 Text/Publication/Volume: Udny, J. 1772. Plan of the silver mines of Hilderstoun and Tartraven. 382-5.
- --- SHG3173 Text/Publication/Article: Stevenson, R B K. 1968. The Brooch from Westness. 25-31. 30.
- --- SHG607 Text/Publication/Article: PSAS. 1876. 'Donations to and purchases for the Museum and Library, with exhibits', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 11 1874-6, p.17-21,81-7,121-3,152-4,172-5,233-5,264-5,328-30,. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 17-21,81-7,121-3,152-4,17. 264.
- --- SHG74 Text/Publication/Article: Curle, A O. 1939. 'A Viking settlement at Freswick, Caithness', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, Vol 73 (1938-39), pp 71-110. p 101.
- <1> SHG26677 Collection/Project Archive: Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH). 2013-14. Ardersier and Hilton Local Heritage Project. Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH). Yes. Digital.
- <2> SHG25244 Text/Publication/Monograph: Graham-Campbell, J.. 1995. The Viking-Age Gold and Silver of Scotland (AD 950-1100). Paper (Original). pp. 3-4.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7949 4930 (4m by 4m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH74NE |
| Civil Parish | CROY AND DALCROSS |
| Geographical Area | INVERNESS |
Finds (7)
- PENANNULAR BROOCH (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- WIRE (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- COIN (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- BEAD (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- BEAD (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- COIN (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
- BALANCE (Early Medieval - 561 AD to 1057 AD)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-190-000-953-C& (Link to NMS online collections database)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/14148 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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