Treasure hunter sued by Church of Scotland over $3.6 million haul of Viking relics

Church of Scotland is suing for a share of a record $3.6 million haul of Viking relics found on its land by a man with a metal detector.

Derek McLennan is being sued by the Church of Scotland. Picture: Press Association/The Sun

A treasure hunter is being sued by the Church of Scotland over a record $3.6 million (£2 million) haul of Viking relics he found on its land.

Church chiefs are demanding Derek McLennan, 52, hands over $1.8 million (£1 million) after he allegedly snubbed a written agreement to give them half the value of his bounty.

The metal detector buff is now facing a legal challenge in Edinburgh over claims he failed to respond to church pleas for its share of the cash.

“There was an indication he was going to pay the church a finder’s fee. That’s why he is being taken to court,” a source told The Sun.

“The church has been unable to get a hold of him. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything that would preclude him from being in touch, it appears to be a choice.

“It’s a tricky one for the church chasing the money, but they do feel that they do have an entitlement of some kind of fee.

“The church could do a lot of good with that money. It was church land they were on. It should have been a happy, fortuitous thing.

“You don’t want to get in a legal wrangle over it. Why would anyone let him on to their land again — or any other detectorist?”

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Derek McLennan is being sued by the Church of Scotland. Picture: Press Association/The Sun

Mr McLennan unearthed 1200-year-old gems including gold and silver jewellery, an early Christian cross and a rare intact Carolingian pot during a 2014 dig at a Dumfriesshire beach owned by the church.

It is understood the retired businessmen, from Ayr, Ayrshire, was promised the bumper reward three years later under Scots treasure trove laws.

His payment was raised through more than $780,000 (£430,000) in public donations, $1.8 million (£1 million) from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, $270,000 (£150,000) from the Scottish Government and $730,000 (£400,000) from the Art Fund.

The hoard — the biggest ever found in the UK — has since been handed over to National Museums Scotland.

The church is demanding Mr McLennan hands over £1 million from the haul. Picture: Handout/The Sun

Rules on discoveries in Scotland mean only the finder receives payment, while in the rest of the UK awards are split with the landowner.

But Reverend David Bartholomew, a fellow detectorist who was on the jackpot dig with Mr McLennan, told how a deal to share any profits 50-50 had been struck with church chiefs.

“That’s the normal agreement in England but in Scotland most detectorists work on that basis because you don’t get permission to detect,” he said.

“Usually it’s just a verbal agreement. In this case there was a written agreement between the general trustees of the Church of Scotland and Derek.”

The minister said charity champion Mr McLennan felt let down by experts drafted in after his discovery.

Mr McLennan now faces a legal challenge. Picture: Press Association/The Sun

“He felt very badly treated by the treasure trove system in Scotland who decide on rewards. Experts took control and he was pushed to the edge a bit. He did everything by the book in terms of working with the system,” he said.

“But he felt because of the way he was treated by the system he wanted to put the whole thing behind him. It’s an absolute mystery to me why it has got to this stage.”

Rev Bartholomew claimed he’s tried in vain to contact Mr McLennan about the row.

“I emailed him and got nothing back and actually sent a letter about a year ago saying I’d heard the church hasn’t got anything and it’s not in your interests or anyone’s interests for it to get to a court case,” he said.

The hoard has been handed over to National Museums Scotland. Picture: Press Association/The Sun

The Church of Scotland confirmed its court action.

But a spokeswoman added: “It would be inappropriate for us to provide further commentary.”

Mr McLennan’s legal representative said: “My client has no comment at this time.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission