Newly uncovered sites reveal true power of great Viking army in Britain
Share:
Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants. Dozens of sites linked to the Viking great army as it ravaged Anglo-Saxon England more than 1,000 years ago have been discovered. Leading experts from York University have traced the archaeological footprint of the Scandinavian invaders, identifying previously unknown sites and routes.
![[A selection of Viking artefacts]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a47eed7f0f3e89ebdc42c06cb9a6d0a59d008b98/0_130_3901_2340/master/3901.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The study, conducted by Dawn M Hadley, professor of medieval archaeology, and fellow archaeology professor Julian D Richards, found that the significance of many of the ingots, gaming pieces and other artefacts unearthed by metal detectorists over the years had been overlooked until now. They also discovered about 50 new sites that they believe were visited by the Viking great army.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the collection of annals in Old English, recorded that the “great heathen army” arrived in 865. Over 15 years, battles were fought in the kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex, kings were overthrown, monasteries were looted and society was transformed as Viking leaders adopted Anglo-Saxon styles of kingship, converted to Christianity and engaged in political diplomacy.
Richards and Hadley have identified Viking sites and routes by comparing artefacts unearthed across the country with those discovered at two of their main camps, Torksey in Lincolnshire and Aldwark in North Yorkshire. Richards said that gaming pieces thought to have been first manufactured at Torksey, for example, were identified on main routes or transhipment points more than 100 miles away. These were pieces from a strategic board game similar to chess.
