Staffordshire Hoard stays in Birmingham

The items were found buried in a field in South Staffordshire

Artefacts from the Staffordshire Hoard are to remain on display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Around 59 items from the Anglo-Saxon treasure will continue to be displayed until 15 June 2010.

The Hoard is to remain in the West Midlands after the £3.3m purchase price was met.

A National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) grant of £1.285m was added to money raised by a campaign involving Stoke and Birmingham councils.

The Memorial Fund grant stopped the collection from being divided up and sold to private collectors.

Thousands of visitors

A gold hilt fitting, one of the hundreds of artefacts

The hoard of 1,600 items was discovered in a field in South Staffordshire by a metal detector enthusiast in 2009 and since then has sparked massive public interest.

A selection of items went on display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in autumn 2009 and was seen by 40,000 people over the course of 19 days.

People visited the museum from across the country as well as from abroad. The museum recorded visitors from Alabama, Bangkok, Canada and California.

Astonishing artistry

40,000 people came to see part of the Hoard last time it was in Birmingham

The Hoard returned to Birmingham and went on display for a second time at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on 13 March 2010.

Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture Cllr Martin Mullaney said: "I am delighted that items from the Anglo-Saxon Hoard will be back in Birmingham".

Dr David Symons, Curator of Antiquities at the museum, described the artefacts in the hoard as "incredible."

"The skill and artistry involved in some of these pieces is astonishing," he added.

The treasure is believed to date from the later 6th to early 8th century AD.

Items have also been displayed at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.