The Viking Great Army north of the Tyne: A Viking camp in Northumberland?

Book section : Chapter

A site in the Coquet valley, Northumberland, has yielded an extensive Viking-Age metal-detector assemblage, with striking parallels in material retrieved from documented Viking camps in England and Ireland. This paper introduces the site, its topography and small finds and details the results from initial geophysics and lidar surveys. We argue that the site was strategically situated and long-lived, with evidence for occupation spanning the Roman to later medieval periods. We note, in particular, indications of high-status early medieval activity, which stand out in a Northumbrian context. We propose that this regionally important, but hitherto unknown site was occupied in the 870s in connection with the Viking leader Halfdan’s campaigns against the Picts. As such, it contributes to growing evidence for the size and character of Viking encampments and the movements across Britain of the Viking micel here.

Authors: Kershaw, J; Jarman, C; Weber, H; Horton, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Routledge
• Host title: Viking Camps: Case Studies and Comparisons
• Pages: 96-116
• Chapter number: 5
• Series: Routledge Archaeologies of the Viking World
• Publication date: 2023-07-13
• Acceptance date: 2023-02-22
• Event title: Viking Camps Studies and Comparisons
• DOI: 10.4324/9781003347682-6
• EISBN: 9781003347682
• ISBN: 9781032389493
• Language: English
• Keywords: metal-detecting; Northumberland; Viking winter camp
• Subtype: Chapter