43was the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and to
the East was the old kingdom of Northumbria.
Both had been ravaged by the “Great Heathen
Army,” and sections of both areas had come
under Viking control. To the West was the Irish
Sea, surrounded by a mixture of cultures and
countries. To the north, and less well recorded,
was the kingdom of Altclud, a Welsh-speaking
kingdom.
The Vikings attacked Altclud in 870. After this
attack, the kingdom seems to have grown more
powerful, and its name seems to have changed
to Strathclyde. It then expanded its territory
southward, possibly with the help of Vikings.
Research indicates that, in the early 900s,
Vikings took control of what today is Cumbria.
Its name seems to have changed, this time to
Cumbralond, then Cumberland, and, in the
1970s, to its present name — Cumbria. So, were
the people buried at Cumwhitton part of this
expansion?
Possibles?
It could be that the people buried at Cumwhitton
were given land for serving the kingdom of
Strathclyde. They then could have bought belts
and cloth locally when they lived in their new
community. The children of these people probably
converted to Christianity, as Cumbria is well
known for Christian stone sculpture.
Surviving artifacts show that, in the 10th
and 11th centuries, the sculptures were
heavily influenced byNorseart and
mythology. In addition, many place-names
in the area trace their roots to Norse names
— Appleby, Hesket, and Ireby, for example.
But what really makes Cumwhitton
special is that it offers much information
and ideas about people and places that are
not mentioned in the written sources. It also
tells of kingdoms about which we know very
little and how the royals and other
members of the court interacted with the
local population. We still have many
questions, but there is always more evidence
out there just waiting to be dug up!Adam Parsonsis a professional archaeologist who
studies the Viking Age and is based in Northern England.
His images for this article are courtesy of Oxford
Archaeology Ltd.Check out this cloth preserved on a belt fitting.This reconstruction of a gravesite shows how one may
have looked at the time of burial.Norse refers to the language and culture of Viking-Age Scandinavians.