Viking burial ground dispels myth of longship marauders

The Guardian ^ | Tuesday September 7, 2004 | Lee Glendinning and Maev Kennedy

[SunkenCiv]

The Vikings were buried within 10 metres (30ft) of each other. In the 1940s at Ingleby in Derbyshire a burial ground was found, but it held cremated ashes buried in earthenware pots, with few artefacts. The only other group of bodies found was a battlefield cemetery at nearby Repton.

The Cumbria burials were completely different. These were clearly not the longship pirates of legend, but a settled, wealthy, peaceful community.

Sir Neil added that the find provided rare evidence of Vikings as settlers who integrated into English life.

[SunkenCiv]

Regarding the title -- of course this find does nothing of the kind. The Vikings landed, plundered, and went home again; but some also landed, plundered, murdered, and carved out new homes for themselves. Physical descendants and some customs survive in England, mostly in the old Danelaw and north of the Humber (if memory serves, I've never been there).

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

[SunkenCiv]

Hmm... for some reason I want to be a lumberjack...

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[SunkenCiv]

two similar stories:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040907/ap_on_sc/britain_vikings_3
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=570&e=8&u=/nm/20040907/sc_nm/britain_vikings_dc_1

[Khurkris]

Vuppies

[Byron_the_Aussie]

Typical Guardian nonsensicality.

There is nothing in the story which supports the claim made in the title.

[SunkenCiv]

:')

[piasa]

Just a bunch of harmless wethorns looking for work picking peas...

[nopardons]

Not to mention place names and most especially in and around York,which WAS a Viking stronghold/settlement. IIRC. :-)

[Agrarian]

The Vikings were farmers and herdsmen first, and warriors second. There was nothing so predictable as having some of them like a particular marauded land enough to settle down there, marry the local wenches, and start to farm and graze.

I'm not sure there's anything new here, although I always like reading anything written about the feats of my ancestors...

Undaunted Olav Trygvason/ Sped across the North Sea's wave/ On to his unexpectant Kingdom/ Which he did long to save...

[rmlew]

Jarvik --> York.
As the folks at the Scandinavian American Association put it, New York City is simply New New Jarvik, with a Dutch interlude.

[nopardons]

Yes...as New Amersterdam. :-)

[truth_seeker]

"Sir Neil added that the find provided rare evidence of Vikings as settlers who integrated into English life."

And Scotish and Irish life, too.

This is hardly news, since Dublin was founded by Norsemen, according to my history/geography readings.

And my Canadian ancestors, previously resident in Northern Ireland and Scotland before, wrote of their Norse blood.

I guess they were proud of it. As well they should be. I contend the Northern Germanics had more impact on civilization, per capita, than most if not all other groups.

They civilized and ruled Russia; "Rus" and "slav" being nordic words.

They conquered northern France, and from there Britain.

At one time, they ruled southern Italy and part of the Holy lands.

Of course they made way to North America, but abandoned it rather than war with Skraelings.

Columbus used maps from northern origins, in predicting his route to the new lands.

Concepts finding way into English self-governance come, in part from the Nordic "thing" or town hall.

Today Sweden's population is about 9 million, Norway 4 million, Denmark 5 million, Finland 5 million and Iceland 300 thousand. Total 23 million.

They include the highest usage of the internet, today.

I ain't talking about socialism; that I'll grant. But smart and able to impact the world, for sure.

[SunkenCiv]

February 2005 bump

[SunkenCiv]

Those poor, misunderstood bloodthirsty killers, the Vikings.

Did the Vikings drive natives from the isles?
by Stephen Stewart
May 17 2005

Viking settlers may have "ethnically cleansed" Scotland's islands, waging a genocidal campaign against native Pictish tribes as they arrived, according to evidence uncovered by archaeologists... Work at Langskaill farm, in Westray, shows signs of a Pictish culture vanish abruptly with the arrival of the Scandinavians, underlining the theory that the Northern Isles were taken violently... A Viking-Norse longhouse was unearthed, which was built directly over an earlier earth house and part of a Pictish house, probably indicating a takeover of the site and adjoining lands... In recent years, the image of the Vikings has been transformed from bloodthirsty pagan savages to that of sophisticated merchants with exceptional navigational and engineering skills. The finds on Orkney, however, are expected to reopen the entire debate.

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[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Did the Vikings drive natives from the isles?
by Stephen Stewart
May 17 2005

Viking settlers may have "ethnically cleansed" Scotland's islands, waging a genocidal campaign against native Pictish tribes as they arrived, according to evidence uncovered by archaeologists... Work at Langskaill farm, in Westray, shows signs of a Pictish culture vanish abruptly with the arrival of the Scandinavians, underlining the theory that the Northern Isles were taken violently... A Viking-Norse longhouse was unearthed, which was built directly over an earlier earth house and part of a Pictish house, probably indicating a takeover of the site and adjoining lands... In recent years, the image of the Vikings has been transformed from bloodthirsty pagan savages to that of sophisticated merchants with exceptional navigational and engineering skills. The finds on Orkney, however, are expected to reopen the entire debate.

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Donate Here By Secure Server·Eating our own -- Time to make a new start in Free Republic
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[SunkenCiv]

Whoops.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

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