Investigation of Eastern England during the Viking Age as a landscape of conflict.

Principal investigator: Liam
Level: PhD level research

My study aims to investigate Eastern England during the Viking Age as a landscape of conflict. Between c.AD 878-886 a peace agreement was reached between King Alfred of Wessex and the Danish Viking leader Guthrum. The area settled by the Vikings offers an attractive study area due to its being bounded by the treaty of Alfred and Guthrum c.878-886, as well as the frequent conflict that took place across and within its borders. The Danelaw was relatively ephemeral as a ‘Viking’ territory and is thus little understood. It is hoped that by studying how the landscape was manipulated by conflict that we can better understand its elusive history. The study will challenge these statements by attempting to locate the archaeology of Viking Age conflict within the Danelaw. This includes but is not restricted to: fortifications, linear boundaries (both man made and natural), evidence of social conflict and upheaval (possibly in the form of displaced populations and Viking constructions), weapon and ‘ritual’ deposits and sites of violent conflict. It is also important to consider aspects such as the available routeways and roads that would have existed during the period, as well as considering the use of place names to identify sites.

My use of the PAS will be to identify finds as part of my investigations into Viking Age conflict - I am especially interested in weapon finds in rivers. The project is initally set to last until the summer of 2013 but may run on for another year.

Audit data

• Created: 13 years ago
• Created by: D P