AN ARCHAEOLOGIST claims a lengthy investigation has - ‘beyond any sensible doubt’ - located the site of the 1066 Battle of Fulford.

Chas Jones says the conflict took place at Germany Beck, and some of the evidence, including a sword, axe and arrow, will be on display in York city centre on Friday and Saturday, alongside a tapestry depicting the battle.

Mr Jones, who has led a long-running campaign to prevent a 650-home development by the beck, has long been engaged in a bid to establish the location of the battle, which preceded the other 1066 battles at Stamford Bridge and Hastings.

The Press reported in 2016 how four trenches had been dug just on the other side of the beck from a new access road which was being built into the housing site.

Now seven cabinets of finds are to be shown at Barclays Bank in Parliament Street from 9am to 4pm on Friday and Saturday as part of the Jorvik Viking Festival. “People can just drop in to the bank,” he said, adding that when the bank closes on Friday, the tapestry and finds will also go on display from 6pm-8.30pm in Fulford Social Hall, in School Lane, Fulford, when there will be a chance to handle some of the finds.

A talk starting at 7pm will describe how the battle site was identified and give a description of the 1066 battle. “There is no charge and no need to book,” he said.

Mr Jones said in a speech to the Council for British Archaeology that the sword had been spirally wrapped in sacking or leather to protect it, since it was not ready for its sheath and it had also never had a pommel or a guard fitted.

“One sensible conclusion is that the owner was hoping to return and complete this weapon,” he said. “Among the finds were three pieces which have a wire-like structure inside an iron shell. It is suggested that these come from a weapon.”

He said they had also found a unique road which could be traced from pre-history until the present, with a rutted medieval surface, a repaired Roman surface and very ancient base material, in a track which aligned with an iron age settlement 1km south. “Finding a road that links Fulford to Riccall was the first objective of the methodology since armies need roads to reach a so-called ‘pitched’ battle.”

He said: “The narrative of any site will of course be endless. But we must be brave and state a clear conclusion when it’s justified. Just accept that archaeologists are going to argue with you; but please remind them of the damage they do when they publicly nit-pick while avoiding the big picture.

“In this spirit I am happy to state that we have, beyond any sensible doubt, located the 1066 battlesite at Fulford.”