I, and so many fans would love to hear yuor take on the origins of the Staffordshire Hoard. Was it booty sold by the Mercian King Æthelred I,Reign: 675 – 704, who after his queen was murdered, built Bardney Abbey in her memory and retired there as Abbot. Did he sell all the gold and garnet warchest to some merchants who were waylaid and slaughted by his nobles, not knowing the treasure had been buried shortly before their attack, just off the Watling Way? This is Uhtred period history, and may explain how Mercia as the most powerful kingdom, defeating Kent and Northumbria, was overtaken by Wessex and English history changed for ever!

Stephen Pollock-Hill