Viking Age England

by Julian D Richards

  In Viking Age towns animal bones would have been readily available as domestic waste, although particular bones were deliberately selected for each product. Bone was used occasionally for combs, but also for pins, textile equipment, playing pieces, toggles and skates. Antler was favoured for comb making, but was also used for knife handles. In both Lincoln and York the antler was mostly from shed antlers which must have been collected in the surrounding woods, although there is rather more evidence for the hunting of deer from Lincoln (Mann 1982). Walrus ivory was also worked to produce fine mounts and fittings; elephant ivory is rare in Viking Age England, although two fragments are known from York.

  STONE

  Before the tenth century the development of stone quarrying for building and stone sculpture was largely in response to demand from the church. At Raunds the site of a Viking Age quarry has been identified as the source of materials for the new stone church. The quarries around Lincoln were producing stone for grave covers and also for the first generation of stone-built churches in the city. Good building stone was also quarried at sites such as Portland and the Isle of Wight, and transported over long distances of more than 80km (50 miles), for the construction of the new stone churches (Jope 1964). In Lincolnshire it is clear from the distribution of the sculpture that waterways were used to transport these large and heavy objects. Particular types of stone were sometimes selected for certain features, such as Barnack limestone for the alternate long and short ashlar blocks at the corners of church towers. Where they were available, however, Roman buildings were robbed for their dressed ashlar blocks, such as those reused in the tower of St Mary Bishophill Junior, in York. Roman stone was also exported to York’s hinterland, for use in both monuments and churches. The arches still standing in the church at Kirk Hammerton, 13.5km (8 miles) north-west of York, may have been demolished from a substantial Roman building and carefully reconstructed, piece by piece. In Yorkshire crosses and grave slabs were generally made from a single piece of local stone which was rarely transported more than 15km (c.10 miles).

  In the tenth century the Scandinavian aristocracy took over the patronage of the stone masons and sculptors. Large quantities of crosses and tombstones were produced for this new market (see chapter 11). Sculptural workshops were established in towns, such as Chester and York (plate 9), or around rural sites, such as Gosforth (Cumbria). In York a group of carvers, which have been collectively termed the ‘Metropolitan School’ virtually mass produced a standard range of monuments which are found in graveyards across the city. These craftsmen inherited much of their artistic repertoire from the Anglo-Saxon church to which they added Viking Age animal ornament (see chapter 11).

  The sculptor’s first task would be to give the monument its basic shape. Analysis demonstrates that templates were regularly used, to produce the shape of a cross-head for instance. The decoration would then be laid out in panels; templates and stencils were again used to produce elements of the design. Different workshops produced monuments with distinctive styles and designs. Similarities between groups of sculpture show that itinerant masons travelled between villages. It has been argued that the same template was used to provide the outline of a warrior’s helmet on a cross at Sockburn (Durham) as at Brompton (North Yorkshire), some 11km (7 miles) away, implying that the industry was carefully controlled. Chisels and punches would be used to carve the stone, which would then be decorated with bright colours. The scrubbed appearance of stone sculpture today makes it difficult to envisage the original intended appearance, which to a modern eye would have been exceptionally gaudy. Gesso, a form of plaster, was sometimes used as a base, and then black, blue, red, brown, orange, yellow and white paints would be used to highlight the design. Finally, the sculptor may have added decorative metalwork, jewellery or paste.

  GLASS

  Glass was used for tableware, mainly fine cups and beakers for wine consumption, and occasionally for glazing windows, where its use was restricted to stone buildings. Fragments of window glass have been found at monastic sites, such as Jarrow, Monkwearmouth and Repton, and at aristocratic sites, such as the royal manor at Old Windsor. Glass was made with soda-lime until the tenth century, when the increased demand for window glass was met by the use of potash. With the possible exception of Barking Abbey, none of the excavated sites where glazing occurs has so far yielded furnace remains, one possibility being that readymade glass was brought to the site for cutting. Glass beads and other jewellery was manufactured in towns, and glasssmelting crucibles have been found in Gloucester, Lincoln and York. At Winchester a pit excavated at the Brooks site contained a large collection of predominantly window glass, presumably brought together for recycling (Hunter and Heyworth 1998). At Coppergate a glassworking hearth may have been in operation in the late ninth century, even before the tenements were established. A group of 29 fragments, predominantly of Roman glass vessels, had been collected nearby, presumably for melting down. By the later Viking Age lead was being added to the crucibles to give the glass a sparkling appearance, like modern lead crystal. Beads, finger rings, and playing pieces were manufactured from the yellow and dark green glasses (Hall 1994).

  NON-FERROUS METALWORKING

  The working of copper alloys and precious metals was restricted to aristocratic sites for much of the post-Roman period, and appears to have been carried out under lordly or ecclesiastical patronage. A mould fragment from Whitby Abbey is more likely to represent monastic metalworking than Viking raiders pausing from pillage to melt down church plate. At Cheddar, gold, copper, silver, tin and lead were worked in the ninth century. Jewellery was the main product, possibly for gifts from the king to his retinue. At Faccombe Netherton, on a site adjacent to the aisled hall, copper alloys and gold were cast in the tenth century. Such communities of craftworkers must have been established at many rural manorial sites.

  During the Viking Age non-ferrous metalworking also becomes an urban enterprise, and evidence has been found in several towns, including Chester, Exeter, Lincoln, Northampton, Thetford and York. At Coppergate two adjacent tenth-century tenements were occupied by metalworkers. Each had a large central hearth which may have been used for heating metals, and some 1000 crucible fragments were found, of which over 90 per cent were of Stamford ware. The smallest, no larger than a thimble, appear to have been used for melting gold, but silver, lead and copper alloys were also being worked. There is no direct evidence for the smelting of non-ferrous metals, though pieces of galena (lead ore) show that it was being brought to the city. The metalworkers were separating precious from base metals in small ceramic dishes. Contemporary finds of coin dies and trial stamps (see chapter 8) suggest that much of the silver may have been used for coinage but the main trade appears to have been jewellery production, and several unfinished objects were excavated. Any suitable material might be utilised as a mould; a Roman tile had shapes cut into it for casting blanks for brooches and pendants. Both stone and clay moulds were used for casting ingots, but soapstone moulds were selected for silver casting. Soapstone is found in Shetland, Norway, France and Sweden. Its use in York, the only site in England where it fulfils this purpose, suggests that it was brought from Shetland or Scandinavia by Scandinavian traders or craftsmen. Silver ingots would be used as the raw material for further casting, or might be hammered into arm rings. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Coppergate finds is the range of metalworking activities represented, often concentrated in the same areas, perhaps indicating sharing of workshop facilities (Bayley 1992).

  At Flaxengate, Lincoln, a similar range of metals was worked in the same buildings as glass beads were being made, although silver and copper alloys decline in importance in the late tenth century, to be replaced by iron-working. Over 500 crucible fragments have been excavated from ninth- to eleventh-century levels. The crucibles were manufactured from local clays or, if they were to be used for melting silver, crucibles imported from Stamford were preferred.

  During the ninth and tenth centuries
the demand for brooches decorated in a Scandinavian style spread beyond those who could afford precious metals. Iron alloys and pewter became particularly popular for mass-produced jewellery (plates 11 and 31). A large number of lead alloy disc brooches appear to have been manufactured on Coppergate. They were decorated with stylised animals and plants and geometric motifs. Scandinavian Jellinge, Borre and Ringerike style elements were each manufactured in England. Designs might first be tested on ‘trial’ or ‘motif-pieces’ of waste bone (plate 13).

  Recording of objects found by metal detector users has revealed large numbers of Anglo-Scandinavian-style objects in the hinterlands of the Viking Age towns (Thomas 2000). In Lindsey, for example, over 200 objects have been recorded, the vast majority being poor quality jewellery (Leahy pers comm). Many of the items are also very worn, presumably because they were everyday costume fittings. Metal detecting has also brought to light Viking objects from all over Norfolk and Suffolk (Margeson 1997). Some were made in Scandinavia; others were made locally in a Scandinavian style. Sometimes new types of artefact were created that are neither Scandinavian nor Anglo-Saxon, but represent a new cultural identity (MacGregor 1982; Tweddle 1986). The flat disc brooches so beloved of the Anglo-Saxons, now decorated with Scandinavian ornament, are a sure sign of mixed traditions. So-called Norse bells are not known from Scandinavia, but are found in Scandinavian colonies overseas from Iceland to Yorkshire. Two have been found at the Anglo-Scandinavian settlement at Cottam (plate 32); their function is unknown but they were probably decorative costume fittings. Williams (1997) has catalogued over 500 stirrup-strap mounts: decorative mounts with elements of Ringerike or Urnes style ornament, which were attached to iron stirrups. These objects have been discovered throughout lowland England but were probably in use for a relatively short period of time, between 1025-1100. Could these represent a short-lived fashion, possibly of an elite cavalry group with Scandinavian pretensions?

  IRON WORKING

  Iron was probably the most important raw material during the Viking Age, being essential for both tools and weapons. The blacksmith enjoyed particular prestige, and appears in Scandinavian mythological scenes depicted on stone monuments as a heroic figure, such as Weland the Smith who was lamed by the king to prevent him from escaping with his skills, or Regin who forged the magical sword used by Sigurd the dragon-slayer. A tenth-century cross from Halton (Lancashire), for example, appears to show Regin working at a raised hearth.

  In Middle Saxon England there was a relatively restricted range of iron products. There were weapon smiths at a few permanent centres, including rural proto-manors such as Wharram Percy, but most smiths were itinerant or village craftsmen manufacturing and mending tools on a small scale for local consumption. In Viking Age England, iron-smithing became a town industry, and urban excavations invariably provide evidence for iron working. Rural communities, such as those at Ribblehead, St Neots, Thwing, and Wharram Percy, still undertook production for their own needs, and at higher status rural sites such as Cheddar most of the iron objects required would also have been made on site. The key developments, however, took place in towns such as Bedford, Northampton, Stamford, Lincoln and York, where smiths experimented with new artefacts and new techniques.

  Iron working is a two-stage process. First the ore must be smelted to extract the iron, and then the iron must be worked by the smith to make finished artefacts. Smelting is a very hot and unpleasant process which requires great quantities of fuel. It is likely that most smelting was still undertaken in the country, close to the iron ore deposits, and abundant supplies of wood, at sites like West Runton, Great Casterton and Ashdown Forest (Sussex). At Ramsbury (Wiltshire) industrial iron furnaces dated to the late eighth and early ninth centuries have been excavated, which most likely operated within the sphere of royal influence (McDonnell 1989).

  Scrap iron was a precious commodity and several hoards of broken iron tools and weapons have been found in England, although it is not always possible to distinguish them from ritual river deposits (see chapter 2). In many cases metalworkers’ hoards include ancient Roman and Anglo-Saxon objects. At Nazeing (Essex) an eleventh-century hoard found in alluvial gravels on the east side of the river Lea comprised four axes, four spearheads, a gouge, a chisel, a small hammer, a ploughshare, two knives, a fish spear, and a copper alloy ring and cup (Morris 1983). Similar hoards are known from Hurbuck (Co Durham), Crayke (North Yorkshire), and Westley Waterless (Cambridgeshire).

  Little smelting was undertaken in towns, other than at Stamford where iron ore was brought from the local ironstone outcrops. In York carbonate ore would have been available from either North Yorkshire or Lincolnshire. At Coppergate some 21kg (46lb) of iron smelting slag has been excavated, including some solidified into the hemispherical shape of the furnace bottoms. Nonetheless this is less than might be expected from a single smithing operation. Excavation of the furnace of Millbrook (Sussex), for example, produced over 40kg of smelting slag. The evidence does not therefore suggest that smelting was undertaken in the immediate vicinity of Coppergate. Much of the slag may have been brought to the site as rubbish, possibly after use as ballast in ships on the Foss. The vast majority of bar iron being used in Anglo-Scandinavian York was probably smelted close to the ore source (Ottaway 1992).

  Smithing was far more widespread. It has been identified at Flaxengate in Lincoln, and at the Minster and Coppergate sites in York. In both Lincoln and York there was a close relationship between the ferrous and non-ferrous metalworkers; both sets of activities were often carried on in the same buildings, probably by the same workers. Approximately 179kg (400lb) of smithing slag was excavated at Coppergate. Iron bars and strips were imported from the smelting sites outside York and large amounts of material were also brought for recycling. It is now believed that even the remarkable Coppergate Anglian helmet probably reached the site as scrap.

  The Coppergate smiths displayed a high degree of expertise and were probably permanent craftsmen. A number of classes of object were manufactured on site, including needles, jewellery, and Scandinavian-style chest fittings. At the York Minster site the smiths were mass-producing horseshoe nails in a former Roman barrack block. Different grades of iron were selected for different purposes. Around 220 knives were found in Viking Age deposits at Coppergate. Most made use of carbonised steel for the cutting edge. During the ninth century new types of knife were introduced, including a group with long handles, and decoration proliferated, including incised grooves and inlaid designs (Ottaway 1992). Clearly knives and iron dress-fittings were being increasingly used for decoration and display in the Viking Age. Although it is difficult to identify any particular Scandinavian influence, the increased need for status display may be seen as a reflection of the Viking Age circumstances.

  Manufacturing techniques were also developing at the same time, and a great variety of methods were in use by the tenth century. There were two principal methods of welding the steel blade to an iron knife. The hardest knives were produced by butt-welding the steel strip along the edge of the iron blade. Another technique was to sandwich weld a steel blade in between two slices of iron. This second method increased in popularity in York during the tenth century, leading to knives becoming softer. Sandwichwelding was also introduced into Dublin at this time, possibly from York.

  LEATHER WORKING

  By the medieval period leather working comprised several specialist tasks, such as skinning, tanning, dressing and cobbling, but during the Viking Age these may have been combined under one roof. Leather working developed on a professional basis in towns and was carried out as a commercial activity. In Durham the Saddler Street leather workers obtained uncut oxhide which they made into shoes, boots and knife-sheaths. They also acted as cobblers, repairing shoes. In York leather workers made shoes, boots, sword and knife-sheaths. Hides from cows slaughtered on site would have provided them with a ready supply of leather, after it had been tanned. In Chester a large scale eleventh-century tanning industry w
as discovered at Lower Bridge Street.

  TEXTILES

  By the ninth century there was some trade in textiles, but most communities produced cloth for their own needs. Large estates would supply their own wool, flax and dyestuffs, and prepare, spin, weave, and dye their own textiles. Some estates were apparently able to employ servants and slaves to work on textile manufacture. At the manorial site at Goltho, a weaving house has been identified from the pin-beaters and other textile tools found on the floor of a large outbuilding.

  Urban communities may also have produced homespun textiles for local demand from raw materials bought in from the countryside. In York all the processes of production, from taking the raw wool to making it into finished cloth and garments, were being practised in the first 40 or 50 years of Anglo-Scandinavian occupation of Coppergate. Although textile working was essentially a home-based craft, York’s international trading contacts would have meant that any surplus might have reached markets from Ireland to Samarkand. The Coppergate and Flaxengate sites were littered with textile implements, including shears, wool combs, and spindlewhorls (perforated weights made of animal bone, pottery sherds, stone or occasionally lead, which weighted the hand-held spindles on which woollen thread was spun out). At Coppergate wool was probably cleaned within the tenement buildings, in view of the abundant sheep lice. In the ninth century the wool was then woven into lengths of cloth using a warp-weighted loom whereby the warp threads were suspended from the top of loom and weighted by loomweights made of circles of fired clay. By the tenth century the warp-weighted loom was probably no longer used on Coppergate, being replaced by the twobeam vertical loom, whereby the warp threads are attached to a wooden beam (Walton Rogers 1997). In Lincoln and Winchester the comparative rarity of loomweights has led to the suggestion that the two-beam vertical loom was introduced from the Continent in the late ninth century, although the warp-weighted loom may have remained in favour on rural sites. At Goltho the two-beam loom was in use in the tenth century. It has also been suggested that the treadleoperated horizontal loom was in use in Gloucester by the tenth century, although elsewhere it is not known until the eleventh century (Pritchard 1984).