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Subject: Excerpt Of History
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 10:13:05 EDT
Viking burial site revealed
Tue 7 September, 2004 13:48
LONDON (Reuters) - Archaeologists say they have excavated an "extremely
important" burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords,
spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding gear.
The site in Cumbria is believed to date back to the 10th century and was
discovered at the end of March when an amateur archaeologist found two copper
brooches with a metal detector.
The grave of a Viking woman was found underneath and further excavation led
to the discovery of the graves of another woman and four men.
Amateur archaeologist Peter Adams on Tuesday described it as "the find of a
lifetime" and experts said it would help to understand how the raiders
settled in England.
Among items found in the graves outside the village of Cumwhitton were
spurs, a bridle a drinking horn, a bracelet and a belt fitting.
"We could not have expected more from the excavation of the site," said
Rachel Newman of Oxford Archaeology North.
"We knew the brooches found by Mr Adams came from a burial of a Viking Age
woman, which was exciting and of great importance in itself, but we did not
expect to find five other graves, complete with such a splendid array of
artefacts."
Vikings from what are now Norway and Denmark began raiding Britain from the
beginning of the 9th century.
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