A Riverine Site Near York: A Possible Viking Camp?

Abstract

A Riverine Site Near York: A Possible Viking Camp? is a comprehensive volume of finds and results from the site ‘A Riverine Site Near York’ (ARSNY). Several researchers have contributed to this publication, although Gareth Williams – as editor, sole author of two chapters and large parts of chapter 2 – is the main force behind the publication. The assemblage at ARSNY is similar to that at Torksey, where the Viking Great Army spent the winter of AD 872–873. It is therefore likely that ARSNY was the location of an undocumented Viking camp. Judging from the coins and weights, Williams date the main activity at ARNSY to AD 874–875 and/or with a continued activity by a smaller group after AD 875. The size of ARSNY, as well as Torksey, are larger than the D-shaped enclosure of the Viking camp at Repton. Adding to the assumption that the enclosure at Reption is only part of the Viking camp. ARSNY first came to notice in late 2003 when metal detectorists, with the landowners and tenants approval, unearthed a group of Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age coins, hacksilver, balance fragment, weights and remnants of iron, including three pieces from the hilt of a sword. An archaeological examination was initiated, in order to examine and contextualize the hoard’s find-spot. Although initially planned as using non-invasive techniques, in the form of geophysical surveys, the project was subsequently expanded with further geoarchaeological surveys and trial trenching. The present research publication is largely a report on the finds at ARSNY, as well as results from the excavations and the geoarchaeological surveys. Expanded with additional chapters on metals and exchange in Viking-Age Yorkshire. The short first chapter is authored by James Graham-Campbell and concerns the late Richard Hall’s impressive archaeological career and his role with the ARSNY project. Chapter 2 is the main section, constituting more than two thirds of the book. Hall and Williams are the main authors, along with Barry Ager and Nicola Rogers, with contributions from 14 others. This detailed review covers all aspects of the ARSNY project, and almost make up a book within the book. There are some repetitions and the