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Lost Gold of the Dark Ages: War, Treasure, and the Mystery of the Saxons
In July 2009 an amateur metal-detecting enthusiast made an astonishing find: 1500 pieces of bejeweled gold and silver almost 1500 years old, buried, lost, then forgotten. The treasure trove promises to shed unprecedented light on the most mysterious period of British history—the so-called "Dark Ages"—when the Saxons, Anglos, Celts, Picts, Jutes, and Vikings battled for control of the British Isles and a "mish mash of peoples evolved into a homogenous nation possessed with a strong cultural identity," according to New York Times bestselling author of the book, Caroline Alexander.
Alexander, author of the bestselling The Endurance and The Bounty, draws themes from the story of the spectacular treasure to explore the entire fascinating history of the Saxons in England; from the fall of Rome to the flourishing and seemingly incomprehensible spread of Saxon influence. Piece by piece, she draws readers into a world of near constant warfare guided by a unique understanding of Christianity, blended as it was with pagan traditions. Through heroic and epic literature that survives in poems such as Beowulf and the Legends of King Arthur, Alexander seeks to separate myth from reality and wonder, with readers, if the circumstances of the deposit of such a spectacular hoard have parallels in legendary tales. Peering through a millennia of mist and mystery, Alexander reveals a fascinating era—and a mesmerizing discovery—as never before, uncovering a dynamic period of history that would see its conclusion in the birth of the English nation.
Set in a landscape whose beauty endures, the story of the making of England emerges through a wealth of archaeological and written material. The story highlights the fluid nature of human societies and carries a surprisingly modern message of a successful, cohesive culture emerging from a diverse group of peoples.
From the Hardcover edition.
Alexander, author of the bestselling The Endurance and The Bounty, draws themes from the story of the spectacular treasure to explore the entire fascinating history of the Saxons in England; from the fall of Rome to the flourishing and seemingly incomprehensible spread of Saxon influence. Piece by piece, she draws readers into a world of near constant warfare guided by a unique understanding of Christianity, blended as it was with pagan traditions. Through heroic and epic literature that survives in poems such as Beowulf and the Legends of King Arthur, Alexander seeks to separate myth from reality and wonder, with readers, if the circumstances of the deposit of such a spectacular hoard have parallels in legendary tales. Peering through a millennia of mist and mystery, Alexander reveals a fascinating era—and a mesmerizing discovery—as never before, uncovering a dynamic period of history that would see its conclusion in the birth of the English nation.
Set in a landscape whose beauty endures, the story of the making of England emerges through a wealth of archaeological and written material. The story highlights the fluid nature of human societies and carries a surprisingly modern message of a successful, cohesive culture emerging from a diverse group of peoples.
From the Hardcover edition.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2011
10 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Alexander
27 books200 followersCaroline Alexander has written for The New Yorker, Granta, Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian, Outside, and National Geographic. She is the curator of "Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Expedition," an exhibition that opened at the American Museum of Natural History in March 1999. She lives on a farm in New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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September 4, 2012Great book. I very much enjoyed this book. While many people might catagorize this as little more than a coffee table book, i found it to be an beautiful AND informative book. The find is amazing and includes a few mysterious items...the book dies a nice job of placing the hoard in it's historical context without boring the reader. The photos throughout show amazing detail and really bring the artifacts to life. Additionally, adding comparisons to the sutton hoo find also add a dimension to the work. Highly recommend. I do not often give 5 stars!
November 11, 2018
This beautifully illustrated book is a book-length feature of a National Geographic article. That speaks to the quality of the illustrations and the authority of the authors. The balance of text and illustrations does place this book in the realm of coffee table books. Having been a Medievalist for nearly 20 years, this is the first time I have seen images of Jarrow and Lindisfarne. However, this is much better than the average superficial overview with random images. The authors focus on a narrow topic and offer considerable insight into the world surrounding that topic.
The topic is a single gold hoard discovered near Lichfield, England in 2009. The hoard dates to the mid-Sixth Century when numerous kingdoms, tribes, and war bands were constantly fighting for supremacy. Alexander focuses on Mercia because the hoard was discovered near the Mercian political and religious capitals. But she does note that more accurately, the land was controlled by two tribes who eventually merged into Mercia. The hoard itself is composed almost entirely of decorative pieces that adorned weapons and armor. Only a few rare pieces were non-martial.
The lack of definitive knowledge of the social-political world of Sixth Century England reappears throughout this book. As a consequence, Alexander fills space with speculation. Sometimes she speculates about the Romans. Sometimes she speculates about King Arthur. Other times she talks about Vikings. It is a little strange that nearly half of the book focuses on events well after the Sixth Century - Alfred the Great, Vikings, and the Norman Conquest. It is in these chapters that the book wonders far away from the Dark Ages.
One thing that I really appreciate about this book was that Alexander tells her story from archeological findings. This is refreshing from the typical reliance on Christian histories and saints' lives. At several places she expresses skepticism towards the monk-historians by commenting on their bias, focus on religion, and adding Christian elements to pagan stories. While she does not totally discount these writings, she relies on her archeology and compares those findings to the archeological record.
Her conclusion is that the Anglo-Saxons were as warlike as the chronicles say. Actions, stories, religion, social life all revolved around conflict and heroic deeds. The emphasis being on the individual. It is the greatness of single warriors that led to stories about Beowulf, King Penda forming Mercia, and the quest of numerous other war chiefs seeking to emulate these examples that made the Sixth Century so dark, forbidding, and violent.
Overall, I am happy to recommend this book to others. Even people familiar with Dark Ages Britain can learn something and enjoy the illustrations. The book is great and intended for a large audience of varying tastes. Furthermore, it is a quick read, although there are so many illustrations and side bars that the normal flow of an already simplified narrative is broken up.
The topic is a single gold hoard discovered near Lichfield, England in 2009. The hoard dates to the mid-Sixth Century when numerous kingdoms, tribes, and war bands were constantly fighting for supremacy. Alexander focuses on Mercia because the hoard was discovered near the Mercian political and religious capitals. But she does note that more accurately, the land was controlled by two tribes who eventually merged into Mercia. The hoard itself is composed almost entirely of decorative pieces that adorned weapons and armor. Only a few rare pieces were non-martial.
The lack of definitive knowledge of the social-political world of Sixth Century England reappears throughout this book. As a consequence, Alexander fills space with speculation. Sometimes she speculates about the Romans. Sometimes she speculates about King Arthur. Other times she talks about Vikings. It is a little strange that nearly half of the book focuses on events well after the Sixth Century - Alfred the Great, Vikings, and the Norman Conquest. It is in these chapters that the book wonders far away from the Dark Ages.
One thing that I really appreciate about this book was that Alexander tells her story from archeological findings. This is refreshing from the typical reliance on Christian histories and saints' lives. At several places she expresses skepticism towards the monk-historians by commenting on their bias, focus on religion, and adding Christian elements to pagan stories. While she does not totally discount these writings, she relies on her archeology and compares those findings to the archeological record.
Her conclusion is that the Anglo-Saxons were as warlike as the chronicles say. Actions, stories, religion, social life all revolved around conflict and heroic deeds. The emphasis being on the individual. It is the greatness of single warriors that led to stories about Beowulf, King Penda forming Mercia, and the quest of numerous other war chiefs seeking to emulate these examples that made the Sixth Century so dark, forbidding, and violent.
Overall, I am happy to recommend this book to others. Even people familiar with Dark Ages Britain can learn something and enjoy the illustrations. The book is great and intended for a large audience of varying tastes. Furthermore, it is a quick read, although there are so many illustrations and side bars that the normal flow of an already simplified narrative is broken up.
September 8, 2013
It was July of 2009 and a guy named Terry was in a field near the town of Hammerwitch on a farm owned by a guy named Fred. Terry headed out to a low ridge and turned on his metal detector. And it started to buzz. In fact, it wouldn't stop buzzing. Terry fished around in the friable soil and pulled out a thin piece of metal with what looked like a pin attached, and a strip of folded metal with a Latin inscription, and a pyramid-shaped gizmo with inlaid red stone of some sort. And coins. And buckles. And a folded cross. And much, much more.
These metal items were gold and garnet and they had not seen the light of day for about 1,300 years. When all 3,500 items were retrieved the collection was called The Staffordshire Hoard, a treasure the value of which was shared by Terry and Fred. The Anglo-Saxon artifacts, which were invaluable, really, made their way to various museums and photos of them to a book, Lost Gold of the Dark Ages: War, Treasure, and the Mystery of the Saxons by Caroline Alexander.
The book made its way to my house from the library because I've been reading about the Saxons. And the Angles, the Britons, the Picts, the Celts, the Jutes, the Frisians, and the Vikings. All were wandering about, many of them wreaking havoc on the others, in the years between the retreat of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans. I've only recently become interested in (not to say obsessed by) the Anglo-Saxons and their period in English history.
It's astonishing how much we know about these pagan people who arrived in Britain from what is now Denmark some time in the 5th century and flourished until William the Conquerer arrived, bringing French-flavored culture and language. The Normans had been Frenchified a bit but they were Vikings, too, not so long before (Normans - Northmen.)
It was not a time of wide-spread literacy. Rather it was a period of warfare with constant raids by the Vikings and a certain amount of conflict within Britain, with the kings of Wessex and Sussex and Mercia and Northumberland fighting to retain their lands and to conquer those of the others. It was during this period that Beowulf was written. Nonetheless we have a enough documents and artifacts (see the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship) to piece together life in Anglo-Saxon England.
I have been reading a biography of AEthelstan, the first king of all England (including the Danes in what was the Danelaw.) And a book about the waves of armies sweeping about in England. A heavily illustrated history of the period. And this wonderful book about the Staffordshire Hoard, with its dozens of color photos and a text that is readable and informative.
These metal items were gold and garnet and they had not seen the light of day for about 1,300 years. When all 3,500 items were retrieved the collection was called The Staffordshire Hoard, a treasure the value of which was shared by Terry and Fred. The Anglo-Saxon artifacts, which were invaluable, really, made their way to various museums and photos of them to a book, Lost Gold of the Dark Ages: War, Treasure, and the Mystery of the Saxons by Caroline Alexander.
The book made its way to my house from the library because I've been reading about the Saxons. And the Angles, the Britons, the Picts, the Celts, the Jutes, the Frisians, and the Vikings. All were wandering about, many of them wreaking havoc on the others, in the years between the retreat of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans. I've only recently become interested in (not to say obsessed by) the Anglo-Saxons and their period in English history.
It's astonishing how much we know about these pagan people who arrived in Britain from what is now Denmark some time in the 5th century and flourished until William the Conquerer arrived, bringing French-flavored culture and language. The Normans had been Frenchified a bit but they were Vikings, too, not so long before (Normans - Northmen.)
It was not a time of wide-spread literacy. Rather it was a period of warfare with constant raids by the Vikings and a certain amount of conflict within Britain, with the kings of Wessex and Sussex and Mercia and Northumberland fighting to retain their lands and to conquer those of the others. It was during this period that Beowulf was written. Nonetheless we have a enough documents and artifacts (see the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship) to piece together life in Anglo-Saxon England.
I have been reading a biography of AEthelstan, the first king of all England (including the Danes in what was the Danelaw.) And a book about the waves of armies sweeping about in England. A heavily illustrated history of the period. And this wonderful book about the Staffordshire Hoard, with its dozens of color photos and a text that is readable and informative.
November 26, 2013
Not only does this book show pictures of the fabulous Staffordshire Hoard, it also includes a pretty decent history of Britain up to about the time the hoard is estimated to have been buried. I've seen the documentary on National Geographic TV, but it doesn't include the British history. Definitely an excellent book.
January 1, 2012
Gorgeously illustrated and well written. A book you can really sink into.
June 17, 2025
As my many (heh) dedicated review-readers are well aware, I am a Caroline Alexander devotee and hard-core fangirl. (The Bounty and The Endurance are two of my favorite books of all time.) So I was super-excited about this one: Caroline Alexander tackling one of my (other) favorite topics (ie, Dark Ages treasure hoards) should have been a slam dunk. Sadly, it was not to be as this book is disjointed and boring. Throughout the book it was often unclear whether she was referring to the titular hoard or Saxon material culture in general. For obvious reasons, there was a lot of discussion of swords; a diagram of sword parts would have been most helpful. (Hilt? Pommel? Guard? Grip? Tang? I don't know what most of these things are.) Of course since the book is a Nat Geo joint, the photos are superb and the captions are fine. Overall, though, disappointing and I didn't really learn anything.
February 7, 2017
A fascinating book about the early history of England (long before it became England). It's about the time period after the Romans left and before the Normans invaded, roughly 410-1066 AD. Amazing treasure hoards from this Anglo-Saxon period have been discovered in recent years in farmers' fields by people with metal detectors. This book tells the many stories and shows many pictures of the beautiful treasures. And if you think your ancestors are English and you take the Ancestry.com DNA test and you end up having mostly Scandinavian genes--it's because the Vikings were there! They came, they conquered, they stayed! I even found out that the Normans were French-speaking Vikings.
October 16, 2019
Fascinating and beautifully illustrated history of the Staffordshire Hoard of gold and garnets discovered in a farm field in England. Caroline Alexander does a masterful job of presenting the story of Anglo-Saxon Britain from the departure of the Romans to the Norman Conquest. The text is complemented by exquisite photographs of the treasure hoard. If you’re interested in the Dark Ages, this is a great book to read.
December 20, 2020
The book gives a comprehensive review of the Staffordshire Hoard, and also a wider perspective in the history of England at that time. Whilst there are some minor errors, it was certainly an achievement of the author to write and publish the book within just two years of the discovery of the Hoard. A new edition woud be helpful, outlining the additional information and reaearch details that have emerged in the decade since publication.
February 10, 2025
Repetitive
There are portions of text that have borders in the ebook but it's not clear if they're supposed to be sidebars or something else. They repeat text that appears elsewhere in the chapter but then go in a slightly different direction.
There are portions of text that have borders in the ebook but it's not clear if they're supposed to be sidebars or something else. They repeat text that appears elsewhere in the chapter but then go in a slightly different direction.
November 14, 2017
I love love love Caroline Alexander books, and while this is not a work of fiction, she includes all the facts.
July 10, 2018
I learned a lot and enjoyed reading this. Some of it repeated itself but overall, it was great. The photos were fantastic. I hope to see some of these for real one day.
July 10, 2018
This is power packed with great photos and history. If you like Medieval England, Old English, and history this is for you.
February 27, 2019
the layman's introduction to anglo-saxon britain I've been looking for. beautiful, clear, elegant writing; informative without ever being overwhelming.
November 7, 2013
Great read. I happened on this gem from the new arrivals section at Merriam Park Library. I vaguely remember reading of this collection of gold and gems found by a farmer in England. Alexander uses the collection, or hoard, as the anchor around which she writes a nifty summary of the Anglo-Saxons. While we don't know much about this time, hence the name Dark Ages, Alexander describes what we do know about these northern Europeans who crossed the channel from the mainland and took over once the Romans had left. Six hundred years later, the Normans arrive from across the channel and abruptly end Anglo-Saxon rule. Great pictures of Staffordshire hoard and lots of related finds, maps and details of related manuscripts and texts.
January 15, 2015
This book was awesome!! The pictures are stunning, and the history is presented in a fun and clear fashion. I learned an immense amount from this book and was also entertained. The book focuses on the buried treasures found from the Dark Ages, and the information that can be gleaned from these pieces. The book touched on Celtic, Roman, Germanic and Scandinavian historical influences, all parties who made Great Britain what it is today. It's a must read for fans of British history.
January 3, 2013
Loved the reselling of discovering the find and the history presented to put the hoard items into perspective. Seems there is more work and research that can be done to discover more truths about these amazing hand crafted items.
June 27, 2015
This book is a very engaging review of Anglo Saxon dark ages history in light of the 2009 Staffordshire Hoard find. A fast read, there is a lot more information available and dark ages scholarship than when most of us first learned this history. Worth a look!
February 6, 2012
A good companion to the exhibit at the National Geographic in D.C. If you looked at the book without seeing the exhibit, the book would not be as relevant.
June 28, 2014
A great survey of the Staffordshire hoard and other treasures: oodles of pictures, solid explanatory text, and a fabulous list of sources in the back.
February 25, 2013
A treasure hunter with a metal detector finds over 3,500 pieces of gold and silver on an old battlefield in England. Contains numerous photos and drawings.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews