Following the Staffordshire Hoard: Reimagined project funded by Arts Council England and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery’s Staffordshire Hoard exhibition has reopened to the public.

The new exhibition, Staffordshire Hoard: Treasure of Mercia, is the first major redisplay of the Staffordshire Hoard since the publication of a major research monograph in 2019. The gallery draws on more than 10 years of conservation and research to provide a comprehensive overview of the Hoard’s designs, manufacture, use, and burial.

The new gallery frames the Hoard in the context of the battles and tributes that followed the expanding influence and power of Mercia in the first half of the 7th century, particularly under King Penda. The objects represented in the Hoard were evidently made in different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, at different times, and brought together through the campaigns of Mercia against neighbouring kingdoms.

The exact circumstances of burial remain a mystery – but the evidence shows that precious fittings were methodically and systematically stripped from larger objects, mostly swords and associated war gear, and at least one high status helmet.

Visitors to the gallery can see some of the Staffordshire Hoards most iconic objects, including the great folded cross, and gold strip inscribed with Latin, “O Lord rise up, may your enemies be torn apart, and those who hate you, flee from your face”. At the centre of the gallery are some of the largest pieces of gold and garnet cloisonné, showing some of the most complex and skilled works of Anglo-Saxon craftspeople.

A reproduction of the Staffordshire Hoard helmet shows what the original construction may have looked like, with some of its many hundreds of original fragments on display nearby.

The upper half of the gallery explore the wider context of Mercia, showing other high-status treasure finds from Staffordshire, and archaeological remains relating to Anglo-Saxon settlement and cemeteries.

At the heart of the gallery is the improved Mead Hall, where a host of Anglo-Saxon characters appear to share stories about their life in 7th century Mercia.

You can find out more about Staffordshire Hoard: Treasure of Mercia at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery at stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag.