James Mather was detecting a field in Oxfordshire in October 2015 when he found a silver ingot. Then another. Then coins began appearing. He knew immediately this was significant and stopped digging.
Archaeologists excavated a hoard of Viking silver: arm rings, ingots, and coins. But it was the coins that would rewrite history books. Among them were extremely rare examples showing two kings side by side: Alfred the Great of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.
Rewriting History
For over a thousand years, Ceolwulf II had been dismissed as a Viking puppet — a weak king installed by Danish invaders. The coins told a different story. Here were Alfred and Ceolwulf depicted as equals, their names and titles sharing the same coin. They had been allies, not enemies.
The "Two Emperors" coins, as they became known, proved that Alfred and Ceolwulf fought together against the Vikings in the 870s. When Alfred later claimed all the glory in his own chronicles, he simply erased Ceolwulf from history. Until a detectorist found the truth.
A Perfect Recovery
James Mather's decision to stop and report the find was exemplary. The archaeological excavation recovered every piece in context, allowing experts to understand exactly how and when the hoard was buried. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford acquired the hoard, keeping it local to where it was hidden 1,100 years ago.
Viking Treasure, English Soil
The hoard was likely buried around AD 879, shortly after Alfred's famous victory at Edington. A Viking fleeing south may have hidden his loot, intending to return. He never did.
Over a millennium later, his silver emerged from an Oxfordshire field — and changed how we understand one of England's most famous kings.