The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

The Scandinavian presence
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Towns
In northern and western Britain, there are no towns during this period, but in England the
Scandinavian presence coincided with a period of urban growth. In the East Midlands there are
five towns, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford, which are described in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Five Boroughs; they were once thought to have been specially fortified
towns, established by the Danes after the partition of the Danelaw, and used by Alfred as a model
for the burhs (below). However, they may not have become Danish strongholds until later, in
which case they may have been modelled upon Alfred’s foundations, rather than the other way
round (Hall 1989).
There had been urban trading and manufacturing centres in England since the early eighth
century. Sites such as Hamwic (Saxon Southampton), Eoforwic (York) and Lundenwic (London)
developed under royal patronage around a waterfront where traders could beach their vessels
and perhaps establish their booths in regulated plots. At most wic sites, however, the threat of
attack in the Viking Age led the traders to seek protection within walled towns, and may also have
disrupted trade.
The site of Hamwic was depopulated by the late ninth century and the focus of tenth-century
occupation shifted to higher ground within the area that was to become the medieval walled town.
In London, the exposed waterfront site along the Strand was abandoned and the area of the old
Roman fortress was reoccupied in the tenth century, becoming known as Lundenburh (Vince 1990).
In York, a single coin of the 860s is the latest find from the Fishergate site, outside the confluence
of the rivers Ouse and Foss, whilst activity commences in Coppergate at about this time. It is
impossible to say, however, whether this starts before the Viking capture of York in 866 as a result
of people seeking the protection of the walled town, or whether it is a consequence of the Viking
settlement. It does appear that York’s Viking rulers renovated its Roman defences and remodelled
its street system. They constructed a new bridge across the Ouse and built houses along Micklegate,
‘the great street’, leading to the new crossing point. In Coppergate, excavations between 1976 and
1981 of an area of deep, oxygen-free organic soils have provided some of the best preserved
evidence of Viking Age urban life in the Danelaw. The Viking Age street was established by 930,
and possibly as early as 900, with the delineation of four tenements, each 5.5 m wide. Initially, a
single line of buildings was constructed along the street frontage, narrow end facing the street
(Figure 11.6). These first buildings comprised timber wall posts and roof supports with wattlework
wall panels. Each was about 4.4 m wide and 8.2 m or more in length. They had central clay hearths
that would have provided both heat and light. There were probably doors at the front and rear of
the properties, but windows are unlikely. In some cases, traces of wall benches were preserved. The
finds suggest that these buildings served both as houses and workshops. In the late tenth century
they were pulled down and replaced by substantial semi-basement structures with planked walls.
Given that this occurred simultaneously along the street suggests that the tenements were under the
control of a single landlord. The new buildings were probably two-storey structures with living
accommodation above and extra storage and workshop space below (Hall 1994). The York examples
are the best preserved in the British Isles, but cellared buildings also occur in other major towns
such as London, Chester, Oxford and Thetford. They seem to be a response to the increased
pressure upon urban space and the need to store goods in transit and stock-in-trade.
Although some of the largest towns developed as trading sites, a much larger group of towns
was established as defended forts or burhs, probably as a direct response to the Viking threat.
The earliest examples were founded in Mercia c.780–90 by King Offa, possibly copying Carolingian
practice. At Tamworth and Hereford, ramparts were erected to enclose a rectilinear area with one
side protected by the river. At Chester, the surviving walls of the Roman fort were refurbished
and probably extended down to the River Dee by Ethelflaed in 907. A substantial Hiberno-Norse