F
ew written documents survive from
the Viking Age. Most of them were
written by church officials or
chroniclers for kings. They tell of pirate
raids that Vikings made on churches
along the coast of Britain, beginning
around 789 C.E. They also tell of a major
invasion by a huge Viking force in 865 C.E.
Another entry describes a “Great Heathen
Army” battling with England’s kings and
nobles. Archaeology, the study of the past
through the remains that people leave
behind, often adds information to this
historical story. Not all this information is
about the rich and powerful. Sometimes,
it is about people whose names never
enter any history books. Let’s take a look
at the story of Peter Adams.
What a Find!
In March 2004, Adams was out metal-detecting in
a field in Cumbria, an area near the border of
present-day England and Scotland. He had
permission to search an area of farmland near a
village named Cumwhitton, but had found
nothing. Nothing, that is, until March of 2004.
Within the top layer of soil — the layer that a
plow would
turn over –
he detected
an unusual
metal
object. It was a Viking-Age oval brooch. Brooches
are usually found in pairs in burials of women.
Peter then found a second brooch.
Such brooches are common in Scandinavia, but
rare in England. So, the British Museum’s Portable
Antiquities Scheme Department sent a team of
archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology to
confirm if the brooches were from a grave. Team
members were also to see what else might be at
the site.And — in the Grave
Almost immediately, a grave was found (shown in
photo above). But what proved very frustrating
for the archaeologists was the fact that no bones
had survived. The reason is the acidic soil in
Cumbria. Still, there were traces, or shadows, that
told where bones had been. The grave did,
however, contain numerous artifacts. Among
them were a glass bead, a knife, and a key.
At the foot of the grave were the remains of a box.
Inside were shears, a glass linen smoother (usedA Tale of
Forgotten
Vikings
by
Adam
ParsonsGrave 1