Trix

Forthcoming lecture in London (and live on YouTube apparently) on 1st April at the British Archaeological Association thebaa.org/events/lectu... #medievalsky #archaeology

Oh my... I've been slack and not got across all the last year, despite even managing a day trip to Dublin for their exhibition. I'm going to have to make a run over happen now, that looks superb :)

Normally splits though, doesn't it? Suspect everyone'll get shunted over to Embra instead...

An excellent thread from Alex here, looking at one of classic Great Army find types. I'm going to be posting a lot more about these weights very soon...

Almost certainly! As ever though, we've lost the charging cable...

Seriously, I can't un-see that now that you've said it! I may need to try to get those into production, I'm sure they'd sell... :)

Thank you, that makes me little finds geek heart sing 😊

Entirely my pleasure!

I don't know if you'd enjoy more, but if you would then the finds database of our other Viking camp at Aldwark, North Yorks, is also available as an open-access resource online:

archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/col...

A find photograph of a small, rectangular lead plaque, Torksey find DB 1620, from the Great Army camp at Torksey, Lincolnshire.

It's Viking Camps #FindsFriday! I've had a few weeks away, with both the Jorvik Festival and half term, so we'll get back to it today... and in honour of yesterday's World Book Day (heavily norse-themed in this household) I thought we'd look at a find with some writing.

This is Torksey DB 1620. /1

I felt very nervous treading on your turf, Judith! It is a lovely little find, though...

The cover of the book 'Life in the Viking Great Army', co-authored by myself.

Equally, if you'd like to investigate the Great Army and their winter camps further, our book 'Life in the Viking Great Army is still available, published by the Oxford University Press, and delves into far more detail than I'll ever manage here! /end

I like the different image this gives us. Yes, it's classic 'Viking' looting - but it's methodical, even careful, re-using even scraps of metal and targeting every resource: lead, not gold.

If you'd like to investigate TDB 1620 more, both it and the whole database are open-access on the ADS. /9

An artistic reconstruction of the Great Army camp at Repton, Derbyshire. In the centre of the image are the remains of the church, occupied ad (possibly) looted by the army, and incorporated into their defensive enclosure.

So, TDB 1620 was most likely a looted church fitting, taken by members of the Great Army - a very Viking activity! Again though, these aren't quite the Vikings of our imagination: this looting wasn't a smash-and-grab for gilded treasures, but a methodical stripping of materials for recycling. /8

The 'Brandon plaque', a small gold sheet from the site of Staunch Meadow, Suffolk. This was probably a book-plate, and shows the eagle of St John clutching a pen and book, surrounded by letters.

It seems probable our Torksey find was from a church, possibly from a memorial plaque or a shrine. Further written plaques are known from religious sites, like this beautiful gold one found by a fisherman at Brandon, Suffolk, decorated with the eagle of St John: more precious, but very similar. /7

An illustration of find OM3 from St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale. This is a damaged lead plaque, broken on all sides, but with three lines of text letters still visible.

Another, more damaged, lead sheet from St Gregory's Minster in Kirkdale, Yorkshire, again has a mix of letter forms, but is more roughly written. The text itself might be a combination of Old English and Latin, and seems to refer to a 'bone chest'. It may have formerly been attached to a coffin. /6

An illustration of find 1019 from Flixborough, Lincolnshire. This is a lead plaque with four lines of incised text in Old English.

A very similar lead sheet, this time whole, was found at Flixborough, Lincolnshire. This has seven personal names on it, and also has attachment holes. The letters are a mix of uncial and misuscule forms, but have the same serifs and curves. It's though it might have been a commemorative plaque. /5

A close-up of the upper part of TDB 1620, showing two letters of uncertain type.

The top line is more complex. The first letter might be a badly-executed runic 'u' or 'c', but may also be a unical roman 'h'. Next to it - who knows? The character is unknown. Given that these are again well-formed letters, I find it hard to believe they're botched runes. Is this a mixed script? /4

A close-up of the lower part of lead plaque TDB 1620, showing four runic letters.

Text is not my thing: David Parsons analysed this for us, and suggested that the bottom two lines are Anglo-Saxon and not Scandinavian runes. They read:

e a
g e

...which isn't much to go on! They're well-formed letters, with serifs on the end-strokes, paralleled by Christian runic inscriptions. /3

A second, black-and-white photograph of TDB 1620, showing the lettering on the front more clearly. Six letters can be seen, arranged in a vertical column of twos: there may have been more, but the sheet has been cut where they might have been.

TDB 1620 is part of a small lead plaque, deliberately cut up - you can clearly see a jagged 'broken' edge on the right. There's also a piercing in the top left-hand corner, suggesting it was once fixed to something - and there are the remains of three lines of text visible, six characters in all. /2

A find photograph of a small, rectangular lead plaque, Torksey find DB 1620, from the Great Army camp at Torksey, Lincolnshire.

It's Viking Camps #FindsFriday! I've had a few weeks away, with both the Jorvik Festival and half term, so we'll get back to it today... and in honour of yesterday's World Book Day (heavily norse-themed in this household) I thought we'd look at a find with some writing.

This is Torksey DB 1620. /1

I'll completely agree it's a glorious image... but the expression on that carnyx, seeming to look out the frame and through the fourth wall, has a real feel of -

*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
"Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got here.."

A photograph of a child wearing a 'Loki' outfit for World Book Day: a t-shirt with an 'L' on it, very spiky hair, and a cardboard speech bubble on a stick saying "Foolish mortals!"... which I've no doubt he'll be shouting at teachers and fellow pupils all day.

A quick privacy edit for the wee guy - he was VERY proud of his 'awesome hair' this morning :)

Loki was our wee lad's choice today: we've made him more complex costumes before, but were *very* glad that he requested such a simple one this year - much appreciated!

We swapped out the whoopee cushion for a "Foolish mortals!" cardboard speech bubble on a stick :)

The 2026 Viking Society for Northern Research student conference takes place at the University of Liverpool on 11 April. Includes student lectures, launch of the paperback 'Embers of the Hands' by Dr Eleanor Barraclough & plenary lecture by Prof Howard Williams @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social

A little bit of extra light for a Wednesday morning: St. Mary's Abbey in York.

The cover of Crawl Space by Steve Toase

Time is a great healer. For me it is also a great disinfectant. One of the big inspirations for Crawl Space were the modern objects* we find on site before excavating, & particularly those with accretion

*yes, these are absolutely archaeology in their own right too, but that's for another time
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I'd always shout out for the Mosque Kitchen for food.

Post a pic you took, no context, to bring some zen to the feed.

(River Derwent, ten years ago - rebuilding a Bronze Age landscape and flood plain)

My copy arrived today.

I've been having a lot of mental wanderings lately, and needed both a bit of company and a bit of help. Thank you for the heads-up.

A very fair and balanced view of this year's VALHAll:A symposium.

An event like this, bringing together the academic and non-academic, the field archaeologist and living historian, all at different levels of interest and engagement, is a complex thing. I've been hugely impressed with it each year.