The Vikings in England
The Pitney Brooch
© The Trustees of the British Museum. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Gilling Sword
(c) RDale
The Bedale Hoard
(c) RDale
Late Viking Age stirrups
(c) University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum
Viking Age finds from England
The four items above are examples of Viking Age finds made in England. You can find pictures of many more similar items by searching on the website.
The Pitney Brooch would have been worn by a wealthy woman. It is made of bronze but covered with a thin layer of gold to make it look even more valuable than it was. It was made in the late 11th century, and shows a long thin animal fighting a snake.
The Gilling Sword dates from the 9th century. It is an English design, but could have been carried by a Viking or an Anglo-Saxon warrior at any time in its life. Old swords were valued because they had survived battle, and warriors knew that they would not suddenly break.
The Bedale Hoard had been buried in Yorkshire in the early tenth century. It contained no coins, because Vikings at this time paid with lumps of silver that the merchant would weigh to make sure they were getting paid correctly.
The Stirrups in the last photograph are made of iron and were decorated with bronze wire. They date to the early 11th century. Metal stirrups were a new invention for England at this time.
(c) BBC
BBC Bitesize: Vikings
The BBC provides a range of resources about the Vikings. It has sections that explain: who the Vikings were; how they fought; their trading and exploring; what life was like in Viking Britain; what happened to Vikings and Anglo-Saxons; and the Norman Conquest.
The site also includes a series of video clips to watch that reinforce the lessons learnt from the other sections.
(c) TheSchoolRun
The School Run: Vikings
The School Run provides more information about the Vikings and is also targeted at KS2. It has a different layout from the BBC website, and lists a large number of linked websites with additional activities, places to go and things to do.
(c) Heritage Learning
Heritage Learning: Saxons and Vikings
Some companies, like Heritage Learning, provide opportunities to attend courses targeted at KS2. These give you the opportunity to handle finds and talk to experts. Many are also based at museums like The Collection in Lincoln.