This essay will outline the evidence we have that suggests how and where the Vikings invaded and in many cases settled in Britain.
There appears to be four phases of Viking activity throughout Britain. The raiding and looting phase can be distinguished between the years 789-864. The first recorded raid describes a landing of Norwegians at Portland in 789. King Offa’s orders for the defence of Kent as described in the Chronicle for the year 792 could suggest some raids may have been left unrecorded. The recording of heavier raiding and looting becomes more apparent in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle after 835, around the same time period when the Danes began to winter in England.[1] Southampton, London and Canterbury were often victim to these raids.[2] The phase of raids was gradually succeeded by a phase of permanent colonisation and the formation of the Danelaw during 865-896. From the formation of the Danelaw came the development of the five Viking boroughs of Lincoln, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Stamford as listed in the Chronicle for the year 942.[3] These were all positioned strategically on navigable rivers or important Roman routes, and in the case of Lincoln, Derby and Leicester, they made use of the old Roman defences. The settlements were later backed up by extortion of tribute between 980-1012. This was followed by a final phase of Viking activity in the form of political conquest during 1013-1066.[4]
One major source we have regarding evidence of Viking raiding is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This provides us with particular dates and places where the Vikings were said to have attacked and looted, however, this substantial piece of evidence was compiled by the victims of the raids and so should be looked at with caution. It is believed by historians some data has been exaggerated, for example, the entry of 851 recording the armada of three hundred and fifty ships is actually thought to have been closer to thirty five ships.[5]
Monasteries would seem to be a main target for raids and looting as described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, however, there is actually very little archaeological evidence to support this. Some evidence has been discovered in Tarbat and in particular Anglesey, which seems to have been a popular target from around 855. This consisted of a number of broken stonework fragments with evidence of burning, very loosely suggesting the monastery may have been victim of Viking attack. The raids on the monasteries of Anglesey such as Caer Gybi and Penmon located near Holyhead appear to coincide with the expulsion of Erik Bloodaxe from Jorvik.[6]
The Chronicle also describes many Viking camps in different areas of Britain, however, not all have been located yet. Many of them are D-shaped with the protection of water on one side of the camp and on average could shelter an army of hundreds of men. Repton in Derbyshire has proved to be a significant archaeological find with regards to Viking settlement as it is a very rare find.[7] This consisted of a D-shaped enclosure situated on the bank of the River Trent containing a mass burial of over two hundred and fifty individuals at one end of the camp and has been dated with the help of coins discovered there to the winter camp of 873-874. The Anglo-Saxon church had also been implemented within the enclosure to be used as a gatehouse.[8] Many of the bones found in the mass burial show signs of injury, but also signs of healing, indicating the individuals may not have died from the injuries shown on their bones, however, they may have died from disease or sustained other injuries in places that would leave no marks on their bones such as in between the ribs. Over eighty percent of the individuals found were male aged between fifteen and forty five. [9] A similar find of a mass burial has also been discovered in Buttington.[10]
We can therefore assume the Scandinavian males were accompanied by women and children and so the suggestion of raiding armies consisting only of men must be false, this can be also supported by the entry of 893 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describing invading Viking armies as bringing their women and children with them to Britain. However, most of the burials of Scandinavian women would appear to date to the phase of Viking settlement rather than the phase of raiding and looting if we look at the grave goods to date them, for example beads and tortoise brooches appear to indicate burials within the settlement period.[11] The Viking burials found within Britain indicate a fusion of Scandinavian ritual and customs acquired whilst settling in Britain. We assume most of the Viking burials were inhumations, however there are some suspected cremations located at Ingleby.[12]
The burial of a woman found at Adwick-le-Street appears to be that of a Viking woman. Similar burials have been discovered in the North Atlantic and also along Viking trade routes; however, this particular burial appears to be quite rare within Viking Britain. The goods the woman was buried with, such as the latch lifter, bowls, knife and brooches, point to a pagan burial. Isotope analysis has proved the woman to have been Scandinavian in origin. Other burials suggested to be Viking women can be found at York and Essex.[13]
Ship burials appear to be quite significant, and also non-existent on mainland Britain, however there are a few present on the Orkney Islands and also the Isle of Man. At the site of Balladoole, Isle of Man, a boat shaped grave was discovered with the remains of a male and possibly a female, along with cloak pins, a knife, a belt buckle and other grave goods, however, no weapons were present in the burial.[14] The site of Rousay, Orkney Islands, shows evidence of a ship burial with a designated burial chamber containing a male. Another excavation at Scar on the Orkney Islands shows evidence of a male, a mature female and also a child accompanied with grave goods of jewellery, a plaque made from whalebone, and weapons as well as other everyday items.[15] It has proved difficult to find evidence of Viking pagan burials in mainland Britain; however, artefacts such as weapons have been uncovered within Christian cemeteries. Remains of swords have been found at the burial sites of West Seaton and Rampside, and a knife, sword and shield boss has been found at Ormside.[16]
It is difficult to distinguish Viking settlement in Britain because it appears differently in their native areas. Many excavated sites have found little discovery with regards to Scandinavian design or origin. The site of Ribblehead in North Yorkshire is a good example of this problem. It is a site believed to be of Viking influence and possible used as a farmstead, however, no object has been found there that could be described as Scandinavian.[17] The settlement at Jarlshof appeared to have been reorganised by the Vikings for their own needs and purposes. The first Norse house was a low bow-sided building twenty-three metres long.
The names given to certain areas of Britain could also act as evidence to suggest there was a major Scandinavian influence. There are only a handful of Scandinavian place names south of the Danelaw territory, whereas Scandinavian place names within the Danelaw are in abundance.[18] The areas we are able to see the areas of concentration of Scandinavian named places are around the areas of the Five Boroughs and Jorvik. Even the names of some rivers and streams within the Danelaw can be seen as Scandinavian influenced. Other elements that can be associated with Scandinavian naming are the places in Britain ending in –by, meaning village, and –Thorpe, meaning hamlet. Many runic inscriptions have been discovered on tombstones as well as other objects such as sword hilts, proving the Vikings were literate to some degree.[19]
The emergence of particular artwork forms can indicate a Viking presence throughout Britain. Styles such as Borre, Jellinge, Ringerike and Urnes show the development of Scandinavian art in chronological order, often consisting of interweaving patterns, birds and animals. The Borre style was the earliest to be seen in Britain and this consisted of a simple interlacing ring chain. The last of the style of artwork came in the form of the Urnes style and had developed from the simplicity of the Borre style to incorporate entwined birds and animals; however this style appears to be less reproduced and is limited to small brooches and other metalwork.[20]
The artwork can be found on general items such as jewellery, metalwork, woodwork, but also developed on stonework such as tombstones.[21] Some crosses depicted Viking warriors, good examples of which can be located at Middleton in North Yorkshire, along with Weston, Sockburn and Levisham. Some of the figures depicted on the tombstones have also been suggested to have been Viking landlords. Other different types of gravestones have been found in Northern England in the form of the hogback style.[22]
Evidence of Viking treasure hoards have been discovered, one of largest being the Cuerdale hoard, suggested to have been the pay chest of the Viking army. This particular hoard even contained some Arabian coins. The hoards could have been buried for many different reasons, for example, threat of attack, or offerings to the gods, or simply for safekeeping. It is generally quite difficult to date treasure hoards accurately because many hoards contained older coins than the date of burial, however, the most recent coin would be considered as a reference point. We are able to distinguish a typical Viking hoard usually from the presence of hack silver and particular ornaments and ingots. Another hoard discovered in Croydon has been dated to 872, a time when the Vikings would have wintered around the London area. The lack of hoards dating to before the tenth century could suggest the Scandinavians settling in England were not as concerned with raiding and looting as their successors after the tenth century were.[23]
Mints have been found at York, Lincoln, Winchester and London, of which the latter was the largest and most productive. The mints of York and Lincoln belonged to the Danelaw and the large amount of coinage produced between the two sites has left archaeologists with plenty of evidence with regards to surviving coins.[24]
The development of the town at York has provided a large amount of evidence of Viking activity. The street names show evidence of Scandinavian influence, for example, many of their street names end with gate, such as Coppergate, Monkgate and Castlegate. The name of gate derives from the Old Norse gata meaning street.[25] Excavations at the site of Coppergate show evidence of a planned area of important buildings of workshops as well as housing. York also contains evidence of its own mint for making currency and along with Lincoln, soon became an administrative headquarters.[26] The large amount pottery discovered such as bowls, lamps, cooking pots and other types of pottery for the town and surrounding areas suggests York was responsible for pottery production. Materials such as textiles, leather and wood have been preserved very well at York due to the oxygen free conditions of the soil and so have left a high amount of evidence.[27]
In conclusion, the major areas of archaeological evidence for Viking activity, invasion and settlement would appear to be concentrated within the boundaries of the Danelaw. This is where we have evidence of Scandinavian place names as well as important centres such as the Five Boroughs and Jorvik. The evidence for raiding and looting of monasteries as described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is extremely scarce other than the examples found at Tarbat and Anglesey as I have discussed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in itself as evidence should also be looked at carefully as it would seem particular entries may have been highly exaggerated with reference to ship and army numbers, and some appear to be false. Many of the camps described in the Chronicle, with the exception of rare finds such as Repton, have yet to be discovered. Ribblehead and Jarlshof are also rare exceptions of finds of farmsteads. The sites we have excavated seem to differ from the Scandinavian settlements seen in their homelands, and so this makes it difficult to determine if an excavated site within Britain is definitely Viking. The buried treasure hoards found suggest Vikings were intending to return to that particular place indicating they would be settling close to the area so as not to forget where exactly it is buried. There is evidence of the Vikings using pre-existing burial grounds to bury their own dead. Overall, we are able to see more visible archaeological record of Vikings within the areas of Wales and Ireland compared to a very fragmented archaeological record of Viking activity within England.
Bibliography
Biddle, Martin, ‘Repton and the Great Heathen Army 873-4’, Vikings and the Danelaw, (Oxford: Oxbow, 2001) pp.45-96
Foote, Peter Godfrey, The Viking Achievement: the society and culture of early Medieval Scandinavia (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1970)
Hall, Richard, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough: Shire Publications, 1990) pp.13-56
Jones, Gwyn, A History of the Vikings (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)
Loyn, Henry, The Vikings in Britain (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994) pp. 78-100
Redknap, Mark, Vikings in Wales: An Archaeological Quest (Cardiff: MWL Print Group, 2000) pp. 19-43
Richards, Julian D, English Heritage book of Viking Age England (London: Batsford, 1991) pp. 15-111
Speed, Greg and Walton-Rodgers, Penelope, ‘A Burial of a Viking Woman at Adwick-le-Street, South Yorkshire’, Medieval Archaeology, (Maney Publishing, 2004) pp. 51-90
[1] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England, (London:Batsford,1991) p.16
[2] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.13
[3] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England, (London:Batsford,1991) p. 55
[4] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England, (London:Batsford,1991) pp. 16-28
[5] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England, (London:Batsford,1991) p. 15,
[6] Mark Redknap, Vikings in Wales: An Archaeological Quest, (Cardiff: MWL Print Group,2000) pp. 19, 29, 43
[7] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.14
[8] Martin Biddle, ‘Repton and The Great Heathen Army 873-874’, Vikings and the Danelaw (Oxford: Oxbow, 2001) p. 45
[9] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) p.19
[10] Mark Redknap, Vikings in Wales: An Archaeological Quest (Cardiff: MWL Print Group,2000) p.35
[11] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.49
[12] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.51
[13] Greg Speed, ‘Burial of a Viking woman at Adwick-le-Street’, Medieval Archaeology (Maney Publishing: 2001) pp. 51-90
[14] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) p.104,
[15] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.56
[16] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) p.111
[17] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) p.40
[18] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) p.33
[19] Henry Loyn, The Vikings in Britain (Oxford:Blackwell,1994) pp.80-84
[20] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.31-37
[21] Henry Loyn, The Vikings in Britain (Oxford:Blackwell,1994) p.78
[22] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.39-43
[23] Julian D Richards, Viking Age England (London:Batsford,1991) pp.16-18
[24] Henry Loyn, The Vikings in Britain (Oxford:Blackwell,1994) p.100
[25] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) p.28
[26] Henry Loyn, The Vikings in Britain (Oxford:Blackwell,1994) pp.98-99
[27] Richard Hall, Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland (Princes Risborough:Shire,1990) pp.29-30
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