The richest collection of rare and unique Viking-Age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland is coming to South Australia.

Adelaide will be the first stop on the world tour of Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard. It's the first time this precious collection of objects has ever travelled outside the United Kingdom.

Buried around AD 900 and only discovered in 2014 in southwest Scotland, the hoard contains a stunning variety of objects and materials buried together at one time.

South Australia Museum CEO Dr David Gaimster said the Galloway Hoard was "a rich collection in every sense, from rare and unique examples of gold and silverwork that shows the artistry of the period to items of hacked bullion that show the intensity of trade and exchange".

"Taken together, this hoard challenges popular understandings of this period in world history," Dr Gaimster said.

"Indeed, the hoard reveals the extensive networks of trade and exchange that stretched from Scandinavia and the Atlantic across to Central Asia and the Silk Routes."

He said the museum was "delighted" to partner with National Museums Scotland to bring the Galloway Hoard to Adelaide.

Dr Martin Goldberg, Principal Curator, Medieval Archaeology & History at National Museums Scotland, said the Galloway Hoard had attracted international attention since being discovered.

"But this hoard was in many respects a journey into the unknown, and the exhibition presents all the amazing discoveries we have made through our research," Dr Goldberg said.

"We’re delighted the exhibition can now be seen by audiences outside the UK, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience these exceptional objects in person."

The exhibition shows how the hoard was buried in four distinct parcels and as the visitor is drawn further into this ancient world each parcel becomes richer and more unusual.

The parcels include silver bullion, a rare Anglo-Saxon cross and a cluster of four elaborately decorated silver ribbon arm-rings bound together and concealing in their midst a small wooden box containing three items of gold (pictured left).

Decoding the secrets of the Galloway Hoard has also been a multi-layered process.

Decorations, inscriptions, and other details hidden for more than a thousand years have been revealed through careful conservation, painstaking cleaning, and cutting-edge research by a team of experts led by National Museums Scotland.

Conservation of metal objects has revealed decorations, inscriptions, and other details that were not previously visible. Many of the objects are types that have never been seen before in Britain and Ireland.

Some items are too fragile to travel long distances, particularly those which still have rare traces of textiles.

The exhibition will employ audio visual and 3D reconstructions to enable visitors to experience these objects and learn more about the detailed research that is being done.

In a surprising twist, the South Australian Museum has also uncovered two Viking Age pieces in its own collection of world cultures material, and they will also go on display for the first time to coincide with the exhibition.

A private collector from Sweden, Bertil Gunnarsson-Hagman, donated two brooches (pictured right) from Gotland to the Museum after settling in Adelaide during the 1940s.

Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard will be on show at the South Australian Museum from 8 February to 27 July 2025.  Tickets will go on sale in December.

Galloway Hoard image above courtesy National Museum of Scotland.