“These children may have been members of the Great Viking Army killed in battle”
A team of archaeologistsarchaeologis has re-examined a mass grave excavated in Repton in the 1980s, and concluded that it could contain war dead from the Great Viking Army that invaded England in AD 865. Catrine Jarman (left), who led the team from Bristo
What new information has come to light during the re- examination of the Viking graves? We now believe that the mass grave at the site, which contained the bones of at least 264 people as well as artefacts and coins dating to the mid-870s, was associated with the Great Viking Army, which, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, arrived in England in 865.
Radiocarbon dating, performed in the 1990s, dated the bones to a mixture of dates between the seventh and ninth centuries. Our investigations, though, have revealed that the bones were all consistent with people who died in the late ninth century, at the same time as the Great Viking Army’s invasion. The bones were mostly of men aged 18– 45, but 20 per cent of the remains were wome en’s.
What do we know of the Great Viking Army? The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the e army’s movements in the decade or so after its arrival, especially battles against the Anglo-Saxons, but beyond this, we know little about it. Its size has been debated for decades, but the consensus now, especially considering the large size of the Great Army camp recently discovered at Torksey, Lincolnshire, is that it was thousands-strong.
What is significant about the other graves at the site? One grave contained four juveniles, aged between eight and 18. This is in itself unusual, as we have few similar examples of juveniles buried together from the early medieval period. They were deliberately positioned in the grave, with a sheep jaw placed at their feet. At least two of them had evidenc ce of violent injuries on their skkeletons. Th he archaeologists who ori ginally excavated the site su uggested the grave was a ritual r or sacrificial grave marking m the closing of the nearby n mass grave as part of an elaborate funeral process. It is possible that their deaths were deliberate and a linked to the funeral rit tual. Another theory is that the children were members of the Great Army, and were killed in battle.
A third grave at the site contained two men, the older of whom was buried with a Thor’s hammer pendant and a Viking sword. A boar’s tusk was placed between his legs, and it has been suggested that the injuries he sustained before death may have severed his penis or testicles. The tusk could have been a replacement for what he had lost, in preparation for the after-world.
Does your research tell us anything new about life in England at this time, or life in the Viking army? We can now go back to thinking of the Repton mass grave as a possible Viking Army burial site, which has exciting consequences. I’m working with colleagues on an ancient DNA study which should tell us more about their backgrounds. These were the people who became the first Scandinavian settlers in England, so the more we can find out about their lives, the more we’ll understand about this crucial part of English history.