Posted on 09/07/2004 7:53:26 AM PDT by 68skylark
LONDON (AP) -- Archaeologists in northwestern England have found a burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewelry, fire-making materials and riding equipment, officials said Monday.
The site, discovered near Cumwhitton, is believed to date to the early 10th century, and archaeologists working there called it the first Viking burial ground found in Britain.
The only other known Viking cemetery was found in Ingleby east of Cumwhitton. It was excavated in the 1940s, but the bodies had been cremated and not buried.
Local metal specialist Peter Adams made the find at the end of March and reported it to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which is run by the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council.
``This is tremendous news, a unique discovery which will improve people's understanding of the area and its history,'' council chairman Mark Wood said.
The Vikings, inhabitants of Scandinavia from 800 to 1100, traded with, and raided, much of Europe, often settling there. They invaded and conquered England in 1013.
The burial ground was unearthed when Adams found two copper brooches. The grave of a Viking woman was found underneath, and further excavation led to the discovery of the graves of another woman and four men.
Among the items found in the graves were weapons, spurs, a bridle and a drinking horn, as well as a jet bracelet and a copper alloy belt fitting.
Adams described it as ``the find of a lifetime.''
Rachel Newman, of Oxford Archaeology North, said: ``We could not have expected more from the excavation of the site.
``We knew the brooches found by Mr. Adams came from a burial of a Viking Age woman, which was exciting and of great importance in itself. But we did not expect to find five other graves complete with such a splendid array of artifacts. It truly has been an amazing few months excavating this extremely important Viking Age site.''
Arts Minister Estelle Morris said: ``We should all be grateful to Mr. Adams, who recorded his find so promptly. As a result, the experts have been able to learn more about this fascinating site and uncover the secrets of a time capsule more than 1,000 years old.''
Some of the items found were to be shown Tuesday at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in the nearby city of Carlisle.
Just off the top of my head, I believe any "conquest" of "England" by the Norse took place over several centuries, culminating in Danish rule over the greater part of what is now England in the early 11th century. By the time of the Norman conquest, Anglo-Saxon rule had been re-established, although the Danes were still contesting for the kingdom right up until the very eve of the Conquest.
Thanks for the background. From what you describe, none of these rules claimed to be on a secret mission to sail up rivers they never entered, or claimed to take friendly fire from drunken revelers during some pagan festival. Such things were never seared into their memories. That was back when candidates had some class.
Welcome :-).
LOL - just ordinary invaders, taking what they could get without apology. Scandinavia was overpopulated, odd as that seems nowadays.
You know how they knew they were Vikings? None of them had Super Bowl rings.
"They're still using "England" in an anachronistic usage, to some extent ... Ethelraed's kingdom wasn't exactly a united polity, as was demonstrated in the runup to 1066."
In fact, arguably, the 9th-century viking immigration/invasion of what became the danelaw, and the subsequent expulsion of danelaw rule from those areas by alfred and his descendents, in fact contributed greatly to earlier consolidation of the nominal rule of the major kingdoms that would have otherwise been the case.
Ah, the good old days. Things were so much simpler then.
And, the greatest long-snapper in the history of the game, Mike Morris, # 68...
Yeah, death is always simple ...
well actually the Vikings invaded a lot earlier -- they started around the 8th century and set up Danelaw in northern England right up to London. They were also based in Ireland around what is now Dublin. By the 10th century the British Isles were part of King CAnute's Empire which covered most of Scandanavia as well as other parts of north western europe.
Excellent point.
Did they find John Kerry's service records?
It was an extremely large mound with Nodic inscription on it which translated to "Metrodome."
Nodic = Nordic.
Or maybe not.
Ping
Spam, Eggs, Spam and Spam.
(sausage indeed!)
Hey Tax-chick, it was good to see you and the Tax-chickadees at Matthews this weekend...spreading conservative Christian homeschool entropy in your wake. :)
Look at Scandinavia a thousand years after the heyday of the Vikings. Now they're the quintessential modern European socialist weenie countries...crushing taxation, cradle-to-grave welfare socialism, liberal sexual mores causing the breakdown of the family, and lax immigration policies that are leading them toward their own little Muslim intifadas. Where's the heirs to the Vikings when you really need them?
}:-)4
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