According to archaeologists, England relied on silver imported from France to make its own coins around 1,300 years ago. Even older English coins used silver from the eastern Mediterranean, in the Byzantine Empir. The study is the collaboration between researchers at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  Lead author Dr Jane Kershaw from the University of Oxford said England imported silver from France from AD 750 to 820 at a time when relations were 'up and down'.  'Relations were sometimes sour, but they weren't at war,' sh ..read more

Most of the combs were made from red deer antler, although some were made from bone An unearthed collection of Viking combs is "extraordinary and unique in the UK", according to archaeologists. The antler and bone finds were discovered in Ipswich, Suffolk, during 40 excavations over the course of 20 years. Authors Ian Riddler and Nicola Trzaska-Nartowski said they included "an extraordinary sequence of Viking combs unmatched elsewhere in the country". They indicate the presence of Vikings in Ipswich in the late 9th Century. Riddler and Trzaska-Nartowski are among the authors of a recentl ..read more

Edith Pretty, one of England’s first female magistrates, owned a huge estate in south-east Suffolk known as Sutton Hoo. Pretty had been aware for some time that there was something intriguing about her Suffolk estate. Round mounds of earth loomed across it and in 1937, she decided the time had come to learn something about them. She contacted the Ipswich Museum, hoping to find a professional to excavate the mounds. The museum sent amateur archaeologist Basil Brown to Mrs. Pretty’s estate. Shortly thereafter, Brown began excavating, eventually uncovering the Anglo-Saxon world of Sutton Hoo ..read more

Beowulf and the North Before the Vikings By Tom Shippey Arc Humanities Press ISBN: 9781802700138 How much history is there in the story of Beowulf? The author argues that we can learn more about the people and places mentioned in the poem than has been commonly accepted, and it also sheds light on the Viking raids that began at the end of the eighth century. Excerpt: Beowulf’s anti-historical critics do of course have a point. If you believe that history cannot be written without dates and documents, then Beowulf offers neither. On the other hand, students of prehistory are accustomed to ..read more

The impact the Vikings had on Britain is being examined in a new set of stamps issued by Royal Mail.  The eight stamps feature Viking artefacts and locations of significance from around the UK. These include an iron, silver and copper sword, a silver penny minted in York, silver and bronze brooches, an antler comb and case from Coppergate, York, and a Hogback gravestone from Govan Old, Glasgow. The release of the collection also marks 40 years since the Jorvik Viking Centre opened in York. Read the rest of this article ..read more

 Archaeologists from Archaeology South-East have uncovered traces of the Saxon town of Lundenwic beneath the National Gallery in London. Following the collapse of Roman Britain, Londoninium (London) fell to ruin and was abandoned during the 5th century AD. Anglo-Saxons settled 1.6 km’s to the west of the former Roman capital, establishing a small town known as Lundenwic in the area of present-day Covent Garden. During the 6th century AD, England was split into multiple Anglo-Saxon kingdoms termed the Heptarchy. As borders changed through conquest and marriage, the town of Lundenwic fo ..read more

  Tom Quad, Christ Church, Oxford University – image David Beard The Oxford Experience summer school is held at Christ Church, Oxford.  Participants stay in Christ Church and eat in the famous Dining Hall, that was the model for the Hall in the Harry Potter movies. This year there are twelve classes offered in archaeology. You can find the list of courses here ..read more

The Romans ruled Britain for nearly four centuries, from 43 CE until the beginning of the fifth century. Most commentators agree that the actions of Magnus Maximus can be viewed as the beginning of the end of Roman rule over Britain. He withdrew a large portion of Roman troops when he proclaimed himself emperor and set off to attack Emperor Gratian on the continent. This was in 383, quite some time before the fifth century. But while acknowledging that it was a gradual process, many modern sources claim that one specific year can be cited as the final end. In 410 Emperor Honorius wrote a let ..read more

The Sutton Hoo Saxon ship project, spearheaded by master shipwright Tim Kirk, is a remarkable effort to reconstruct the largest Saxon ship ever discovered. Source: The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company The treasures of Sutton Hoo in East Anglia are legendary, including the imprint left by the largest Saxon ship ever found. Expert shipwright Tim Kirk has been leading a team of volunteers to create an authentic reconstruction of the vessel, with a view to it being sailed in 2025.  With occasional references to the reconstruction activity at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Tim talks at lengt ..read more

This summer, archaeologists and a metal detectorist conducted a small survey of Herlaugshagen, at Leka in the northern part of Trøndelag County. They found something amazing. The goal was to date a burial mound and find out if it contained a ship. They carried out the surveys on behalf of the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage and in collaboration with Trøndelag County Authority. The archaeologists were over the moon when they found large rivets confirming that this was indeed a ship burial, and their enthusiasm didn't subside when the finds were recently dated. "The mound was co ..read more