More on the viking trail...
This time in search of the Great Heathen Army
The vikings came en masse to England’s shores in the mid-860s with the arrival of the Great Army, sometimes called the ‘Great Heathen Army’ because most Norse people were still not Christian yet. They ended up taking over vast swaths of eastern England from north to south, but archaeology has uncovered an important encampment site in the midlands at Repton where the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us they overwintered in 873-874. The above objects came from a mass burial found there of more than 200 skeletons, mostly men but some women too, and many who died very violently. Below is a Thor’s hammer and gold finger ring, also found in the mass grave.
The 8th century church crypt at St. Wystan’s below was there when the vikings arrived and may have been repurposed to be part of a viking war memorial, perhaps even including the final resting spot of famed viking warrior and leader ‘Ivar the Boneless’. Archaeologists and scholars have many theories about this.
In addition to the burials in the crypt and garden at the Repton church, about 5-1/2 kilometers away is a wooded area known as Heath Wood. This is the site of 59 burial mounds which may also be part of a viking war cemetery dating to the mid-870s in a grove of trees that stands in an otherwise wide open area of farmer’s fields. It is distinct enough that you get a good sense of why the vikings would chose to bury their dead there; it feels like a sacred space. It is the only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in the Britain.
A big thanks to archaeologist Tom Horne, who worked on the Repton site, for sharing with me the field report so I could be certain I’d found the mounds, as the earth is taking them back. The vikings are one with nature, as they always seem to have preferred to live. You can find the report here if you are interested in a deeper dive. You’ll see a map of them in the report, which corresponds to the mounds I show in the clips below.