Staffordshire's Saxon treasure shortlisted for award

The news comes on the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the Hoard, the largest cache of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found, in July 2009.

Amateur historian Terry Herbert discovered the treasure in a farmer's field in Hammerwich near Burntwood, Staffordshire, and research into the history and origins of the 3,000 objects continues.

Now the International Institute for Conservation Keck Award has shortlisted Birmingham Museum's conservation programme.

The award is presented every two years 'to the individual or group who has contributed most towards promoting public understanding and appreciation of the accomplishments of the conservation profession'.

The Hoard will be competing against projects in Canada and the USA for the award, named after New York couple Sheldon and Caroline Keck who are widely acknowledged for advancing restoration and conservation techniques in the mid-20th century.

The Staffordshire Hoard, valued at £3.2 million, was bought by the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

Simon Cane, deputy director of Birmingham Museums, said: "We are delighted that the Staffordshire Hoard conservation programme has been shortlisted for this year's Keck Award.

"This international award recognises an individual or group who has contributed most towards promoting public understanding and appreciation of the accomplishments of the conservation profession.

"This idea is core to all of Birmingham Museums' conservation work, and it is great that this has been recognised by the awarding body."

On its website, the Institute's citation says: "The Hoard programme represents a new paradigm for archaeological conservation.

"The idea of carrying out conservation in the public eye is not a new one. Where the Hoard programme has been unique is the intensity and regularity with which it was able to provide outreach and that the social media has gained an international audience which has been sustained over the years."

The 2012 award was given jointly to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, for the conservation and restoration of the Caryatids with the use of laser technology and Anglo-Saxon CSI: Sittingbourne in Kent.

Meanwhile heritage chiefs are set to move on to the next phase of analysis of the hoard.

A spokesman for the analysis team said: "This second stage will help us to answer some of the questions around the hoard, such as how it came to be where it was found.

"But we will also address larger questions about resources and manufacture of the hoard, and how the Anglo-Saxons created these magnificent objects."