York’s Viking history is part of the show in London, reports GAVIN AITCHISON.

FROM the smallest of beads to the vast longboat, it is impossible not to be impressed.

The artefacts, archaeological finds and anecdotes brought together by the British Museum in “Vikings: Life and Legend” are a fascinating and gripping insight the Vikings, from the most mundane elements of daily life to the most spectacular pieces of treasure and weaponry.

York and North Yorkshire are inevitably rightly well represented. The Vale of York Hoard, found near Harrogate in 2007, is shown off in all its glory for the first time at the British Museum.

It is hailed as the most important Viking hoard found in Britain since 1840 and is captivating – 617 coins, six arm rings, bullion and silver, and the silver cup in which the hoard was contained.

The exhibition has been developed with the National Museum of Denmark and the National Museums of Berlin and focuses on the “core period” of the Viking Age, from the late eighth to early 11th centuries, and is the British Museum’s first dedicated Viking exhibition in 30 years.

It is also the first in the Museum’s new Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, part of the new World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre.

It boasts finds never before seen in the UK, along with key items from existing collections in London and across the country and Ireland.

The most stunning find, the centrepiece of the whole exhibition, is the remains of a 37-metre-long Viking warship, the longest ever discovered, excavated from the banks of a Danish fjord in 1997 and painstakingly conserved.

Around a fifth of the ship’s timbers remain and they have been re-assembled within a metal frame, helping to convey the probable shape and size of the complete original. The ship, dubbed Roskilde 6, has been dated to around 1025 and is believed to have been a warship, possibly linked to the wars fought by Cnut the Great.

Alongside it sits a remarkable round shield, but also a gruesome display about the apparent massacre of of 50 Vikings near Weymouth, suggesting they didn’t always triumph on their raids.

Historians’ insights place the items in context, identifying the warrior identity as crucial to Viking life, swords and weaponry making for some awe-inducing displays.

The famous Lewis Chessmen, intricate jewellery, blood-curdling slave manacles and and a child’s toy model boat also merit mention and the curators take great efforts to show the vast reach of Viking influence, stretching far beyond northern Europe, as far as Afghanistan and Newfoundland.

For anyone who has ever enjoyed a visit to the Jorvik Centre here in York, this exhibition will be a delight.


Vikings: Life and Legend is sponsored by BP and runs until June 22 at the British Museum.

Booking is essential. Tickets can be booked at britishmuseum.org or by phoning 020 7323 8181.

Gavin Aitchison attended the exhibition as a guest of the British Museum and travelled to London courtesy of East Coast. Standard Advance returns between York and London, booked online at www.eastcoast.co.uk, start from £26. Times and fares are also available on 08457 225 225 or from staffed rail stations and agents.