A reconstruction of a golden helmet, parts of which were uncovered in the hoard.

The original discovery was posted here back in 2009.

Now that many of the fabulous items from the hoard have been cleaned up and reconstructed, the Daily Mail has produced another gloatable photo feature.

A collection of Anglo-Saxon gold artefacts known as the Staffordshire hoard has been hailed as ‘one of the greatest finds of British archaeology’ by researchers.

The ‘war hoard’ collection was discovered by metal detectorist Terry Herbert who was using a £2 metal detector he bought from a car boot sale to explore a field near Lichfield belonging to farmer Fred Johnson.

Their find on July 5, 2009 was sold off to museums for £3.285million and the funds were split between them.

The artefacts are from what is widely considered the ‘holy war of the dark ages’ in which Pagan leaders fought against rival Christian kingdoms.

The haul of 3,900 items is thought to belong to Mercian King Penda, a Pagan leader who ruled until 655AD.

RTWT