The appeal of treasure

A TREASURE trove found in Watlington finished runner-up in a public vote.

The Watlington Hoard was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for £1.35million following a fund-raising appeal.

The Art Fund, which contributed £150,000, shortlisted the treasure in its top 10 acquisitions of 2017.

The Anglo-Saxon hoard received 8,000 votes, putting it behind only a painting called The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edward Landseer. 

The treasure, which consists of about 200 coins, seven items of jewellery and 15 silver ingots, was discovered by metal detectorist James  Mather, from Tilehurst, in 2015.