THE real beauty of a fabulous board of Viking treasure has been revealed following a long and complex conservation exercise.

Intricate details and fascinating motifs have come to light now experts have finished their work on the stunning Bedale Hoard collection.

And from tomorrow (Saturday, December 13) it will be on show to the public at its new home in the medieval gallery of the Yorkshire Museum in York.

The Bedale Hoard was found in a field near the town after which it was named by metal detectorists in 2012.

As well as an inlaid gold sword pommel, unique silver neck ring and neck collar and a silver arm ring, it also includes 29 silver ingots, two other silver neck rings and gold rivets.

It was bought by the museum earlier this year after a successful public appeal to raise the £50,000 purchase price.

Over the past few months experts from the York Archaeological Trust have been carefully cleaning and conserving each piece, revealing intricate details of the metalwork for the first time.

Tiny cuts have become visible which show the testing of the purity of the silver and samples of wood and textile have also been found, which give clues to how it was buried.

Curator of archaeology Natalie McCaul said: “It is only now that the hoard has been conserved that we can see its real beauty and the incredible craftsmanship involved in creating some of the artefacts.

“The Anglo Saxon sword pommel is probably the stand out piece. This is something that has been plundered by the Vikings and the conservation has meant we can now see the fantastic and delicate gold leaf patterns much more clearly and in some cases for the first time.”

She added: “The hoard is really making us think about this part of Yorkshire in the Viking Period in a different way.”