1 00:00:01,933 --> 00:00:04,266 NARRATOR: 40 years ago, 2 00:00:04,300 --> 00:00:06,233 this sleepy village in the heart of England 3 00:00:06,266 --> 00:00:09,766 was the scene of a gruesome discovery. 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,300 Crammed in was literally this much of solid human bone. 5 00:00:13,333 --> 00:00:19,200 NARRATOR: Nearly 300 battle-scarred skeletons. 6 00:00:19,233 --> 00:00:21,600 Could these be the last remains 7 00:00:21,633 --> 00:00:23,766 of a legendary Viking army 8 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,766 that swept through medieval Britain? 9 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,333 Wherever the Vikings go, they don't play by the rules. 10 00:00:29,366 --> 00:00:33,200 NARRATOR: No one has been able to prove it until now. 11 00:00:33,233 --> 00:00:35,833 CAT JARMAN: We can get an awful lot of information 12 00:00:35,866 --> 00:00:38,900 out of these bones. 13 00:00:38,933 --> 00:00:43,466 NARRATOR: Archaeologists are on the trail of the Great Viking Army. 14 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:45,100 ♪ 15 00:00:45,133 --> 00:00:47,666 It took Britain by force, 16 00:00:47,700 --> 00:00:51,800 helping to shape its laws, language, and very identity-- 17 00:00:51,833 --> 00:00:54,400 but left little trace on the landscape. 18 00:00:54,433 --> 00:00:57,000 JARMAN: I think we are in the right place, 19 00:00:57,033 --> 00:01:00,200 we just have to work out how to, to find the Vikings. 20 00:01:00,233 --> 00:01:01,866 (oar master calling orders) 21 00:01:01,900 --> 00:01:05,433 NARRATOR: Researchers unleash a boatful of modern-day Vikings 22 00:01:05,466 --> 00:01:07,100 to retrace their voyage. 23 00:01:07,133 --> 00:01:08,333 (all grunting) 24 00:01:08,366 --> 00:01:11,400 NARRATOR: Using the latest scientific methods, 25 00:01:11,433 --> 00:01:13,433 the team pieces together 26 00:01:13,466 --> 00:01:15,833 extraordinary personal stories... 27 00:01:15,866 --> 00:01:19,166 This was brought down with great violence. 28 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,466 NARRATOR: ...unearthing what could be 29 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:24,100 one of the biggest Viking sites in Britain. 30 00:01:24,133 --> 00:01:25,833 (detector beeping) 31 00:01:25,866 --> 00:01:27,466 One must imagine thousands of Vikings 32 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:31,366 covering this whole landscape. 33 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,566 JARMAN: This is what we're looking for. 34 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,333 (cheering and laughing) 35 00:01:35,366 --> 00:01:38,100 NARRATOR: "Lost Viking Army," 36 00:01:38,133 --> 00:01:41,500 right now, on "NOVA." 37 00:01:41,533 --> 00:01:45,333 ♪ 38 00:01:46,533 --> 00:01:49,866 Major funding for "NOVA" is provided by the following: 39 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:03,933 ♪ 40 00:02:03,966 --> 00:02:07,866 (bell tolling, birds calling) 41 00:02:07,900 --> 00:02:09,766 NARRATOR: For 40 years, 42 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,233 the sleepy village of Repton in Central England 43 00:02:13,266 --> 00:02:16,466 has harbored an extraordinary archaeological mystery. 44 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:18,200 ♪ 45 00:02:18,233 --> 00:02:21,600 This garden in the shadow of the village church 46 00:02:21,633 --> 00:02:24,400 is riddled with ancient graves. 47 00:02:24,433 --> 00:02:25,900 JARMAN: I think this might break 48 00:02:25,933 --> 00:02:27,866 in two pieces. 49 00:02:25,933 --> 00:02:27,866 Yeah. 50 00:02:27,900 --> 00:02:31,033 NARRATOR: It's still giving up bodies today. 51 00:02:31,066 --> 00:02:32,433 JARMAN: Lovely. 52 00:02:32,466 --> 00:02:34,533 That's lovely-- well done, Van. 53 00:02:34,566 --> 00:02:38,266 NARRATOR: The first human remains were discovered here 54 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:40,600 in the 1970s, 55 00:02:40,633 --> 00:02:42,766 under this mound of earth. 56 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,433 MARK HORTON: So the mound was just about here. 57 00:02:44,466 --> 00:02:48,033 It's now been turned into a rather nice barbecue area. 58 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:51,133 Of course, the excavation completely removed the mound. 59 00:02:51,166 --> 00:02:55,100 NARRATOR: Archaeologist Mark Horton was a 26-year-old grad student 60 00:02:55,133 --> 00:02:58,633 supervising the excavation of the mound 61 00:02:58,666 --> 00:03:02,200 when he was shocked to uncover what lay beneath: 62 00:03:02,233 --> 00:03:04,633 a mass grave. 63 00:03:04,666 --> 00:03:07,133 HORTON: Crammed in was literally 64 00:03:07,166 --> 00:03:09,466 this much of solid human bone. 65 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:11,766 One kind of felt 66 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,700 sort of almost, like, "Crunch, crunch, crunch," 67 00:03:13,733 --> 00:03:18,166 as one moved across this sea of human charnel, 68 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:19,133 of human debris. 69 00:03:19,166 --> 00:03:20,833 ♪ 70 00:03:20,866 --> 00:03:24,966 NARRATOR: The archaeologists recorded the position of every bone, 71 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,066 and calculated that the grave contained the remains 72 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:31,800 of at least 264 people. 73 00:03:35,566 --> 00:03:38,333 Many bones bore vicious scars, 74 00:03:38,366 --> 00:03:43,200 suggesting the victims had died in battle. 75 00:03:44,833 --> 00:03:47,900 But who were they? 76 00:03:47,933 --> 00:03:50,700 Where did they come from? 77 00:03:50,733 --> 00:03:52,933 ♪ 78 00:03:52,966 --> 00:03:57,700 And why are so many buried in this garden? 79 00:03:59,500 --> 00:04:01,900 Clues began to emerge, 80 00:04:01,933 --> 00:04:05,133 including silver coins found with the bodies, 81 00:04:05,166 --> 00:04:08,633 which the archaeologists were able to date precisely 82 00:04:08,666 --> 00:04:11,400 to the 870s. 83 00:04:11,433 --> 00:04:15,833 ♪ 84 00:04:15,866 --> 00:04:21,833 This was a violent period in the history of England. 85 00:04:21,866 --> 00:04:27,800 A great invasion force terrorized the land. 86 00:04:27,833 --> 00:04:32,500 Christian monks charted the attacks of this "Heathen Army" 87 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:36,500 in a contemporary text called "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle." 88 00:04:36,533 --> 00:04:39,766 READER: The raiding army burned and demolished, 89 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,266 killed abbot and monks. 90 00:04:42,300 --> 00:04:47,033 NARRATOR: In the year 873, the marauders swept into Repton. 91 00:04:47,066 --> 00:04:49,533 ♪ 92 00:04:49,566 --> 00:04:53,266 These heathens were Vikings. 93 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,333 Very little archaeological evidence 94 00:04:57,366 --> 00:04:59,700 of the existence of their Great Army 95 00:04:59,733 --> 00:05:03,400 has ever been found. 96 00:05:03,433 --> 00:05:06,566 But that may be about to change. 97 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,833 ♪ 98 00:05:09,866 --> 00:05:13,733 Could the bones discovered in the grounds around Repton Church 99 00:05:13,766 --> 00:05:17,633 be the remains of the Viking war dead? 100 00:05:17,666 --> 00:05:20,666 One skeleton, buried in a prominent position 101 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:23,866 away from the mass grave, 102 00:05:23,900 --> 00:05:25,733 yielded compelling evidence. 103 00:05:25,766 --> 00:05:26,966 HORTON: And if I can remember, 104 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,766 the warrior grave was located just about here. 105 00:05:32,333 --> 00:05:35,566 The head was to the west. 106 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,633 The body was laid out so... 107 00:05:37,666 --> 00:05:39,033 Probably, his feet were just about here. 108 00:05:39,066 --> 00:05:41,033 In fact, when we excavated it, 109 00:05:41,066 --> 00:05:43,233 we thought that he had three legs, 110 00:05:43,266 --> 00:05:45,866 because one of them was a, was a sword. 111 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:50,300 ♪ 112 00:05:50,333 --> 00:05:55,800 NARRATOR: The design of the sword was typically Viking. 113 00:05:56,966 --> 00:06:00,933 And a special piece of jewelry found in the grave-- 114 00:06:00,966 --> 00:06:05,900 a silver hammer of Thor, the Norse god of thunder-- 115 00:06:05,933 --> 00:06:11,433 suggested this was a Viking warrior. 116 00:06:11,466 --> 00:06:13,133 HORTON: Viking warrior graves 117 00:06:13,166 --> 00:06:14,600 are very unusual, 118 00:06:14,633 --> 00:06:17,466 and one that's quite so richly furnished 119 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:20,566 is very rare in, in Britain. 120 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,933 It seems that this was a man of great significance. 121 00:06:27,466 --> 00:06:29,333 Are you there, are you holding on firmly? 122 00:06:29,366 --> 00:06:31,833 Yes. 123 00:06:29,366 --> 00:06:31,833 You don't let me fall over. 124 00:06:31,866 --> 00:06:34,433 NARRATOR: Mark Horton has been pondering 125 00:06:34,466 --> 00:06:36,533 the mysteries of the Repton graves 126 00:06:36,566 --> 00:06:38,133 for four decades. 127 00:06:38,166 --> 00:06:41,366 ♪ 128 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,100 But in 2012, 129 00:06:44,133 --> 00:06:47,433 one of his former grad students took the lead on the case. 130 00:06:47,466 --> 00:06:51,900 Scandinavian-born bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman 131 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:54,900 has been trying to prove that the skeletons at Repton 132 00:06:54,933 --> 00:07:00,333 really are the remains of the Viking army. 133 00:07:00,366 --> 00:07:01,700 It's like a forensic exercise. 134 00:07:01,733 --> 00:07:04,900 You start with just a completely unknown skeleton, 135 00:07:04,933 --> 00:07:06,533 and then you, you really start 136 00:07:06,566 --> 00:07:08,633 to build up a story around this person 137 00:07:08,666 --> 00:07:10,566 by looking at everything 138 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,333 from age and sex and cause of death 139 00:07:12,366 --> 00:07:14,900 to things like diets and DNA. 140 00:07:14,933 --> 00:07:17,100 And then we can really put this person 141 00:07:17,133 --> 00:07:19,166 into that bigger picture that we're looking at. 142 00:07:20,333 --> 00:07:22,500 NARRATOR: As part of her investigation, 143 00:07:22,533 --> 00:07:26,300 Cat's been re-examining the bones of the warrior figure 144 00:07:26,333 --> 00:07:29,700 to see if she can find clues to his identity. 145 00:07:30,900 --> 00:07:34,300 She's met up with pathologist Bob Stoddart. 146 00:07:34,333 --> 00:07:38,400 He first analyzed the skeleton almost two decades ago. 147 00:07:40,333 --> 00:07:41,833 STODDART: This was a chap 148 00:07:41,866 --> 00:07:44,700 who was a professional soldier. 149 00:07:44,733 --> 00:07:45,800 He was tough. 150 00:07:45,833 --> 00:07:48,300 He kept fighting 151 00:07:48,333 --> 00:07:51,566 when he was already severely injured. 152 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,533 ♪ 153 00:07:55,566 --> 00:07:58,666 NARRATOR: The number of injuries suggests to Bob 154 00:07:58,700 --> 00:08:02,333 that the attackers were intent on completing this kill. 155 00:08:02,366 --> 00:08:06,266 ♪ 156 00:08:07,366 --> 00:08:10,933 On the left thighbone, a deep, V-shaped gash 157 00:08:10,966 --> 00:08:15,600 implies he'd been struck by a heavy-bladed weapon. 158 00:08:15,633 --> 00:08:17,866 STODDART: He was stopped 159 00:08:17,900 --> 00:08:20,366 by being hit with one of these, 160 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,800 and this was brought down 161 00:08:22,833 --> 00:08:25,933 with great violence 162 00:08:25,966 --> 00:08:29,000 into his groin. 163 00:08:29,033 --> 00:08:32,466 This wound would have cut through his penis, 164 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:35,733 would have removed at least one testis. 165 00:08:35,766 --> 00:08:38,266 So this was a very dramatic end. 166 00:08:38,299 --> 00:08:39,799 Well, this isn't quite the end. 167 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:42,000 Oh, right, okay. 168 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:42,000 There's more. 169 00:08:42,033 --> 00:08:44,366 Because he's now down, 170 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,666 but not yet quite out, 171 00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:49,233 they now set about his head. 172 00:08:49,266 --> 00:08:51,600 ♪ 173 00:08:51,633 --> 00:08:55,133 NARRATOR: Bob believes that this large fracture to the cranium 174 00:08:55,166 --> 00:08:56,533 was the result of a heavy blow 175 00:08:56,566 --> 00:09:01,033 that smashed the man's helmet into his skull 176 00:09:01,066 --> 00:09:04,733 and dislodged the visor protecting his face. 177 00:09:04,766 --> 00:09:06,433 JARMAN: So he's wearing a helmet, 178 00:09:06,466 --> 00:09:07,933 it's sort of all askew. 179 00:09:06,466 --> 00:09:07,933 All tilts. 180 00:09:07,966 --> 00:09:10,866 Tilted, which means that they can then attack... 181 00:09:10,900 --> 00:09:15,400 They attack through the eyehole of his face guard, 182 00:09:15,433 --> 00:09:18,066 but the eyehole has risen up. 183 00:09:18,100 --> 00:09:22,466 ♪ 184 00:09:22,500 --> 00:09:25,566 STODDART: He was stabbed with probably a spear, 185 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,333 which went through the skull, 186 00:09:27,366 --> 00:09:30,400 through the brain, 187 00:09:30,433 --> 00:09:32,666 a wound which could not be survived 188 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:34,466 for more than a few seconds. 189 00:09:34,500 --> 00:09:39,300 ♪ 190 00:09:42,133 --> 00:09:45,100 NARRATOR: As his men laid the dead warrior to rest, 191 00:09:45,133 --> 00:09:47,900 they attempted to restore his mutilated body 192 00:09:47,933 --> 00:09:50,533 in preparation for the afterlife 193 00:09:50,566 --> 00:09:55,066 by using the tusk of a boar. 194 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:57,000 The boar's tusk was placed 195 00:09:57,033 --> 00:09:58,800 right between his legs. 196 00:09:57,033 --> 00:09:58,800 Yes. 197 00:09:58,833 --> 00:10:02,033 Presumably to replace what he'd lost. 198 00:10:02,066 --> 00:10:03,566 So there's some care in this, 199 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,333 thinking about what he would need. 200 00:10:05,366 --> 00:10:09,100 Presumably he'd want his penis in the afterlife. 201 00:10:09,133 --> 00:10:11,766 Yes, if he was going to enjoy Valhalla fully. 202 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,933 ♪ 203 00:10:15,966 --> 00:10:20,800 NARRATOR: The extraordinary measures his enemies took to kill him, 204 00:10:20,833 --> 00:10:25,133 and the special care his comrades took burying him, 205 00:10:25,166 --> 00:10:30,066 suggest that this was no ordinary warrior. 206 00:10:30,100 --> 00:10:34,266 Was he one of the leaders of the Great Viking Army? 207 00:10:34,300 --> 00:10:36,633 ♪ 208 00:10:36,666 --> 00:10:39,700 Cat's taken samples from the warrior's teeth 209 00:10:39,733 --> 00:10:42,466 in the hope his 1,100-year-old DNA 210 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,500 will reveal some answers. 211 00:10:45,533 --> 00:10:49,000 ♪ 212 00:10:49,033 --> 00:10:51,466 If Repton is the final resting place 213 00:10:51,500 --> 00:10:53,833 of the Viking war dead, 214 00:10:53,866 --> 00:10:56,966 what brought the army to this remote spot? 215 00:10:58,200 --> 00:10:59,733 In the ninth century, 216 00:10:59,766 --> 00:11:03,133 England was under the control of the Anglo-Saxons, 217 00:11:03,166 --> 00:11:06,066 Germanic tribes that had colonized the country, 218 00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:09,433 splitting it into several kingdoms. 219 00:11:09,466 --> 00:11:12,000 The most powerful was Mercia, 220 00:11:12,033 --> 00:11:15,400 with Repton its political and religious center. 221 00:11:15,433 --> 00:11:21,666 ♪ 222 00:11:21,700 --> 00:11:24,400 Hidden beneath the village church 223 00:11:24,433 --> 00:11:30,233 is an ancient Mercian site of unique importance. 224 00:11:32,933 --> 00:11:35,366 HORTON: This is the most atmospheric space 225 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,766 to have survived from, from Anglo-Saxon England. 226 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:44,200 It's really the only substantial architectural remains 227 00:11:44,233 --> 00:11:47,600 from the great Mercian monastery that was built here 228 00:11:47,633 --> 00:11:49,666 from the late seventh century onwards. 229 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:52,333 Probably the richest monastery in Mercia 230 00:11:52,366 --> 00:11:55,700 and the burial place of the kings of Mercia. 231 00:11:55,733 --> 00:11:57,633 (bell tolling, birds calling) 232 00:11:57,666 --> 00:12:01,933 NARRATOR: Saints were also interred in the monastery that stood here, 233 00:12:01,966 --> 00:12:07,933 which grew rich from tributes paid by Christian pilgrims. 234 00:12:07,966 --> 00:12:10,066 HORTON: The Vikings would have been attracted here 235 00:12:10,100 --> 00:12:12,466 because it was such a wealthy place. 236 00:12:12,500 --> 00:12:14,200 It would have been literally dripping 237 00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:17,800 in precious stones and gold and silver. 238 00:12:19,666 --> 00:12:23,733 (fires crackling) 239 00:12:23,766 --> 00:12:27,800 NARRATOR: The Viking Army drove out the Saxon king, Burgred, 240 00:12:27,833 --> 00:12:30,666 sacked the monastery, 241 00:12:30,700 --> 00:12:35,433 and buried their dead in the consecrated ground. 242 00:12:35,466 --> 00:12:38,666 But who were these ruthless invaders? 243 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:41,200 ♪ 244 00:12:41,233 --> 00:12:45,666 The Vikings first emerged almost a century earlier. 245 00:12:45,700 --> 00:12:47,966 They were comprised of disparate tribes 246 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,866 from the vast region we now know as Scandinavia. 247 00:12:52,900 --> 00:12:54,700 SOØREN SINDB K: The people that we call the Vikings 248 00:12:54,733 --> 00:12:56,000 certainly would not have thought of themselves 249 00:12:56,033 --> 00:12:57,500 as a unified people. 250 00:12:57,533 --> 00:12:59,233 But they had one thing in common, though. 251 00:12:59,266 --> 00:13:01,866 They had the language which was mutually intelligible. 252 00:13:01,900 --> 00:13:04,666 So a person from the far north of Norway 253 00:13:04,700 --> 00:13:07,600 could actually speak to a Dane or to a Swede. 254 00:13:07,633 --> 00:13:11,100 That's a huge benefit. 255 00:13:11,133 --> 00:13:14,633 We call that language Old Norse. 256 00:13:14,666 --> 00:13:17,500 But what really makes the Vikings the Vikings 257 00:13:17,533 --> 00:13:19,900 are their ships. 258 00:13:19,933 --> 00:13:21,766 You can't go from one place in Scandinavia to another 259 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,133 without them. 260 00:13:23,166 --> 00:13:25,400 And for this reason, this is really a maritime culture. 261 00:13:25,433 --> 00:13:27,600 Everything you do is connected to the sea. 262 00:13:27,633 --> 00:13:30,066 ♪ 263 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:32,500 NARRATOR: At Roskilde in Denmark, 264 00:13:32,533 --> 00:13:36,433 longships are still constructed in the Viking way, 265 00:13:36,466 --> 00:13:39,266 using techniques derived from ancient Viking vessels 266 00:13:39,300 --> 00:13:42,133 excavated from the mud of the estuary. 267 00:13:45,366 --> 00:13:47,500 Cut marks on the original planks 268 00:13:47,533 --> 00:13:50,133 reveal how the boat builders worked. 269 00:13:50,166 --> 00:13:54,100 Instead of cutting across the wood grain with a saw, 270 00:13:54,133 --> 00:13:58,200 they used an axe to shape the planks, 271 00:13:58,233 --> 00:14:01,800 following undulations in the natural wood fibers. 272 00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:05,366 SOØREN NIELSON: One of the keys for this way of constructing a boat 273 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:06,633 is that you follow the grain, 274 00:14:06,666 --> 00:14:08,866 you follow the fibers in the trees. 275 00:14:08,900 --> 00:14:11,266 I've got a piece here. 276 00:14:11,300 --> 00:14:13,166 So you can see here the long fibers. 277 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:14,866 And when you try to cut it... 278 00:14:16,533 --> 00:14:18,766 It's not easy, as you can see. 279 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,700 NARRATOR: Long, unbroken fibers 280 00:14:21,733 --> 00:14:24,366 gave great strength and flexibility 281 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,800 to the planks. 282 00:14:26,833 --> 00:14:27,933 NIELSON: In the beginning, 283 00:14:27,966 --> 00:14:29,500 we were a bit afraid of the flexibility, 284 00:14:29,533 --> 00:14:30,900 because you, you know, 285 00:14:30,933 --> 00:14:32,533 of the big schooners and ships from today, 286 00:14:32,566 --> 00:14:36,133 it's, they are stiff and, and very strong. 287 00:14:36,166 --> 00:14:39,200 But, but the strength is the flexibility. 288 00:14:39,233 --> 00:14:42,766 ♪ 289 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,933 NARRATOR: The huge forces exerted on the ships by pounding waves 290 00:14:46,966 --> 00:14:52,133 were absorbed by the flexible hulls. 291 00:14:52,166 --> 00:14:55,866 With so many strong seafaring ships, 292 00:14:55,900 --> 00:15:00,200 parties of Vikings began to brave the North Sea 293 00:15:00,233 --> 00:15:02,466 and conduct lightning raids 294 00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:05,133 on English coastal communities. 295 00:15:06,466 --> 00:15:10,466 SINDB K: People return from expeditions to the British Isles 296 00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:12,833 with huge treasure, 297 00:15:12,866 --> 00:15:15,300 and nobody in Scandinavia can just ignore that. 298 00:15:15,333 --> 00:15:16,300 If you're a chieftain, 299 00:15:16,333 --> 00:15:17,766 you need to reward your warriors, 300 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,566 you need to reward them better 301 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:21,666 than the neighboring chieftain. 302 00:15:21,700 --> 00:15:25,166 So the moment that somebody starts this new game in town, 303 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,900 bringing ships across the North Sea, 304 00:15:27,933 --> 00:15:29,633 raiding foreign lands, 305 00:15:29,666 --> 00:15:32,200 it's all over-- everybody has to go. 306 00:15:32,233 --> 00:15:34,433 So within one generation, 307 00:15:34,466 --> 00:15:38,666 we go from a few isolated raids to large armies. 308 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:41,466 ♪ 309 00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:43,166 NARRATOR: There could be another reason 310 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,766 why the disparate tribes started to unite. 311 00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:49,733 By the mid-ninth century, 312 00:15:49,766 --> 00:15:52,533 Scandinavia's barren land may have struggled 313 00:15:52,566 --> 00:15:54,466 to support its growing populations. 314 00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:59,400 Fertile England must have looked alluring. 315 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,833 SINDB K: Resources in Scandinavia are under pressure. 316 00:16:02,866 --> 00:16:04,800 If you're the younger son in the family, 317 00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:07,166 chances are that you're not going to set up your own farm. 318 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,600 There's no new land to be taken that's worth having. 319 00:16:09,633 --> 00:16:13,400 As the Viking age progresses, 320 00:16:13,433 --> 00:16:14,800 what they're really after 321 00:16:14,833 --> 00:16:17,366 becomes not the things to be taken home, 322 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,400 but the things that you can gain out there-- the land. 323 00:16:20,433 --> 00:16:23,933 ♪ 324 00:16:23,966 --> 00:16:27,133 NARRATOR: United under the banner of conquest, 325 00:16:27,166 --> 00:16:30,133 the largest-ever force of Vikings 326 00:16:30,166 --> 00:16:34,366 crossed the North Sea to England in the year 865. 327 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,900 ♪ 328 00:16:37,933 --> 00:16:42,133 This time, it was no smash-and-grab raid. 329 00:16:44,033 --> 00:16:46,566 They had come to stay. 330 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:51,300 ♪ 331 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,966 Because the Viking army left so little physical evidence behind, 332 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,800 historians have to make educated guesses 333 00:17:00,833 --> 00:17:02,433 about how they operated. 334 00:17:02,466 --> 00:17:04,633 Hi, Vikings! 335 00:17:04,666 --> 00:17:06,766 We've chosen a windy old day, haven't we? 336 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,266 NARRATOR: So Mark Horton is joining a group of reenactors 337 00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:15,300 who try to get into the heads of the enigmatic Norsemen 338 00:17:15,333 --> 00:17:16,866 by living like them. 339 00:17:18,666 --> 00:17:21,533 Have you ever taken a longship on the Trent before? 340 00:17:21,566 --> 00:17:23,333 No, it's going to be a bit of a new experience for us. 341 00:17:23,366 --> 00:17:24,766 By my calculation, 342 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,099 it's probably the first time in a thousand years. 343 00:17:27,133 --> 00:17:29,233 ♪ 344 00:17:29,266 --> 00:17:30,533 Cast off aft, please. 345 00:17:30,566 --> 00:17:32,866 NARRATOR: Under the command 346 00:17:32,900 --> 00:17:34,566 of Captain Steve Etheridge, 347 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,900 these enthusiasts wear meticulously recreated clothing, 348 00:17:38,933 --> 00:17:41,200 carry replica weapons, 349 00:17:41,233 --> 00:17:45,166 and sail in a reconstructed longship. 350 00:17:51,133 --> 00:17:53,100 That's the local sailing club. 351 00:17:53,133 --> 00:17:54,400 I don't think they've seen one of these things 352 00:17:54,433 --> 00:17:55,900 for some time. 353 00:17:55,933 --> 00:17:57,433 ETHERIDGE: Let's hope they don't remember last time, eh? 354 00:17:57,466 --> 00:17:59,133 (laughing) 355 00:17:59,166 --> 00:18:01,900 ♪ 356 00:18:01,933 --> 00:18:05,600 NARRATOR: No one knows how big the Viking fleet was. 357 00:18:05,633 --> 00:18:08,966 But the "Chronicle" tells us one flotilla alone 358 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,233 contained 250 longships. 359 00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:16,500 For eight years, the Vikings used the river network 360 00:18:16,533 --> 00:18:19,700 to take their bloody campaign across Eastern England. 361 00:18:19,733 --> 00:18:22,066 ♪ 362 00:18:22,100 --> 00:18:24,166 Then, in 873, 363 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,933 they sailed into the very center of the country... 364 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,233 ...up the River Trent to Repton. 365 00:18:32,266 --> 00:18:34,833 ♪ 366 00:18:34,866 --> 00:18:39,500 Mark's crew is retracing the last leg of that journey. 367 00:18:39,533 --> 00:18:41,866 (oar master calling orders) 368 00:18:44,133 --> 00:18:46,500 HORTON: It's like a sort of open gate into Britain. 369 00:18:46,533 --> 00:18:47,600 ETHERIDGE: Absolutely. 370 00:18:47,633 --> 00:18:48,833 HORTON: We're just one ship, 371 00:18:48,866 --> 00:18:51,066 but you imagine 50, 100 of these vessels, 372 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:54,066 we're talking about three miles' worth of ships 373 00:18:54,100 --> 00:18:55,833 moving their way up the Trent. 374 00:18:55,866 --> 00:18:57,966 ETHERIDGE: It would have been terrifying. 375 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,266 It's a city on the move, 376 00:18:59,300 --> 00:19:00,666 not just an army. 377 00:19:00,700 --> 00:19:01,900 You're, you're bringing everything that you need 378 00:19:01,933 --> 00:19:02,933 with you. 379 00:19:02,966 --> 00:19:06,966 ♪ 380 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,466 If you want to move thousands of people, 381 00:19:09,500 --> 00:19:11,833 supplies and stores and weaponry, 382 00:19:11,866 --> 00:19:14,166 these are the motorways of the Dark Ages. 383 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,366 ♪ 384 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,800 This is the way into the heart of England. 385 00:19:19,833 --> 00:19:21,900 This is how you conquer England, up this river. 386 00:19:21,933 --> 00:19:25,133 ♪ 387 00:19:25,166 --> 00:19:27,700 NARRATOR: The "Chronicle" records numerous battles 388 00:19:27,733 --> 00:19:30,300 between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons 389 00:19:30,333 --> 00:19:33,300 along the way. 390 00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:36,266 READER: King thelred fought against the raiding army, 391 00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:41,333 and great slaughter was made on either side. 392 00:19:43,633 --> 00:19:47,500 NARRATOR: At first, these written accounts appeared to be corroborated 393 00:19:47,533 --> 00:19:50,733 by the battle-scarred bones found at Repton. 394 00:19:50,766 --> 00:19:54,233 But in the 1990s, 395 00:19:54,266 --> 00:19:57,900 when the archaeologists carbon-dated those bones, 396 00:19:57,933 --> 00:19:59,900 the results were shocking. 397 00:20:01,133 --> 00:20:04,600 Many of the bodies appeared to be a century too old 398 00:20:04,633 --> 00:20:07,466 to belong to the Great Viking Army-- 399 00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:13,433 a mystery Cat Jarman has been determined to solve. 400 00:20:13,466 --> 00:20:16,466 JARMAN: Everything-- the bones, the artifacts, the coins-- 401 00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:18,933 is really screaming, "Viking Great Army." 402 00:20:18,966 --> 00:20:21,933 But the science, the radiocarbon dates said, 403 00:20:21,966 --> 00:20:23,366 "That's not possible." 404 00:20:25,066 --> 00:20:27,233 NARRATOR: Scientists date bones 405 00:20:27,266 --> 00:20:32,066 by measuring the amount of carbon-14 they contain. 406 00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:37,933 This radioactive isotope remains in the skeleton after death. 407 00:20:37,966 --> 00:20:41,500 It decays over time at a steady rate. 408 00:20:41,533 --> 00:20:45,866 So by measuring what's left in the bones, 409 00:20:45,900 --> 00:20:51,433 scientists can figure out roughly when the person died. 410 00:20:51,466 --> 00:20:53,500 JARMAN: What we didn't realize 20 years ago, 411 00:20:53,533 --> 00:20:55,233 we actually have to take into account 412 00:20:55,266 --> 00:20:59,300 how the carbon that we're dating gets into our bodies. 413 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:00,966 And it actually gets into our bodies 414 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,366 through the food that we eat. 415 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,400 ♪ 416 00:21:05,433 --> 00:21:09,366 NARRATOR: It turns out that people with a diet high in fish 417 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,133 absorb older carbon than meat-eaters. 418 00:21:12,166 --> 00:21:14,066 ♪ 419 00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:17,266 That's because the oceans contain carbon 420 00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:22,133 that is hundreds of years old. 421 00:21:22,166 --> 00:21:24,066 When fish ingest this, 422 00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:26,533 and people in turn eat the fish, 423 00:21:26,566 --> 00:21:31,766 the ancient carbon enters their bones. 424 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,066 Scientists now know that the bones of people who eat fish 425 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:38,833 appear older than they really are, 426 00:21:38,866 --> 00:21:41,366 skewing carbon-dating results. 427 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,400 Cat has also been able to calculate 428 00:21:45,433 --> 00:21:47,566 just how much fish each person has eaten 429 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:51,700 by using the distinctive chemical markers 430 00:21:51,733 --> 00:21:54,700 seafood leaves in human bones. 431 00:21:54,733 --> 00:21:56,833 JARMAN: I looked at all these different bones, 432 00:21:56,866 --> 00:21:58,400 and it turned out, 433 00:21:58,433 --> 00:22:00,500 everybody with a sort of wrong date, as it were, 434 00:22:00,533 --> 00:22:02,400 had been eating a lot of fish. 435 00:22:02,433 --> 00:22:04,800 That was a really brilliant moment, actually, 436 00:22:04,833 --> 00:22:05,833 to be able to, 437 00:22:05,866 --> 00:22:07,966 to see those dates fitting perfectly. 438 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,833 And that meant the entire mass grave 439 00:22:10,866 --> 00:22:13,700 could now be dated to the late ninth century, 440 00:22:13,733 --> 00:22:15,400 meaning it's completely consistent 441 00:22:15,433 --> 00:22:17,800 with the Viking Great Army. 442 00:22:17,833 --> 00:22:20,433 ♪ 443 00:22:20,466 --> 00:22:24,533 NARRATOR: Now that she's proved they're all the right age to be Vikings, 444 00:22:24,566 --> 00:22:30,833 Cat wants to put flesh back on their bones. 445 00:22:30,866 --> 00:22:33,600 (wheelbarrow squeaking) 446 00:22:33,633 --> 00:22:35,800 Her research has revealed a surprise 447 00:22:35,833 --> 00:22:39,533 about the demographics of the army. 448 00:22:39,566 --> 00:22:40,866 JARMAN: We've been very lucky 449 00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:43,633 in that we've successfully extracted ancient DNA 450 00:22:43,666 --> 00:22:44,866 from these skulls, 451 00:22:44,900 --> 00:22:46,366 and we've been able to determine 452 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,366 what sex these individuals were. 453 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:49,933 And out of these five, 454 00:22:49,966 --> 00:22:51,866 these three are men, 455 00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:54,900 but these two are actually women. 456 00:22:54,933 --> 00:22:57,266 and that fits really well with the rest of the mass grave, 457 00:22:57,300 --> 00:23:02,433 because about 20% of those individuals are women. 458 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:07,500 NARRATOR: What were so many women doing here? 459 00:23:07,533 --> 00:23:10,566 Were they supporting their menfolk? 460 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,966 Or is there more to the story? 461 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,066 ♪ 462 00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:19,533 In Sweden, 463 00:23:19,566 --> 00:23:22,500 the remains of an 1,100-year-old Viking 464 00:23:22,533 --> 00:23:24,633 might offer a clue. 465 00:23:24,666 --> 00:23:30,466 This skeleton was found in 1889, 30 miles from Stockholm, 466 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:33,766 at the Viking stronghold of Birka. 467 00:23:35,333 --> 00:23:38,333 Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson 468 00:23:38,366 --> 00:23:40,000 has recently reopened the case file 469 00:23:40,033 --> 00:23:42,133 on the Birka Warrior. 470 00:23:42,166 --> 00:23:43,100 JARMAN: Wow. 471 00:23:43,133 --> 00:23:45,233 This is my, my baby... 472 00:23:43,133 --> 00:23:45,233 Yes. 473 00:23:45,266 --> 00:23:46,366 At the moment, yes. 474 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,033 Oh, wow. 475 00:23:52,066 --> 00:23:54,033 NARRATOR: Charlotte's been able to use 476 00:23:54,066 --> 00:23:56,900 the original archaeologists' field drawing 477 00:23:56,933 --> 00:24:01,400 to reconstruct how the skeleton was found. 478 00:24:01,433 --> 00:24:05,300 The body was buried with a sword, battle-ax, 479 00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:10,500 and some unexpected companions. 480 00:24:10,533 --> 00:24:12,266 In the foot end of the grave, 481 00:24:12,300 --> 00:24:13,300 there was two horses. 482 00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:17,000 Two complete horses? 483 00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:17,000 Two complete horses. 484 00:24:17,033 --> 00:24:20,000 So this is a very spectacular, high-status grave. 485 00:24:20,033 --> 00:24:23,033 ♪ 486 00:24:23,066 --> 00:24:25,200 From the very beginning, it's been interpreted 487 00:24:25,233 --> 00:24:26,366 as a warrior grave. 488 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:31,233 And we would, of course, interpret this as a male. 489 00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:33,333 But last year, we got the results back 490 00:24:33,366 --> 00:24:35,500 from an ancient DNA analysis, 491 00:24:35,533 --> 00:24:38,566 and it's definitely confirmed to be a woman. 492 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:40,666 Fantastic. And that caused quite a stir. 493 00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:43,333 ♪ 494 00:24:43,366 --> 00:24:46,000 NARRATOR: DNA extracted from the jawbone 495 00:24:46,033 --> 00:24:49,733 proved that this was a strong, healthy woman in her 30s. 496 00:24:51,566 --> 00:24:55,566 Her bones show no sign of how she died. 497 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:57,500 But the weapons in her grave 498 00:24:57,533 --> 00:25:01,700 suggest the position she held in life. 499 00:25:01,733 --> 00:25:04,733 HEDENSTIERNA-JONSON: She is buried as a warrior. 500 00:25:04,766 --> 00:25:06,466 We can of course never prove 501 00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:08,166 that she was actively a warrior in life. 502 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,300 But I think that she was a warrior, 503 00:25:10,333 --> 00:25:13,500 and I think that's the message that they wanted to convey 504 00:25:13,533 --> 00:25:16,066 that we are reading now 1,100 years later. 505 00:25:16,100 --> 00:25:18,833 ♪ 506 00:25:18,866 --> 00:25:22,166 NARRATOR: Was she a real-life shield-maiden-- 507 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,166 a woman who, according to Norse mythology, 508 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,633 fought alongside men? 509 00:25:29,666 --> 00:25:31,066 JARMAN: This is really exciting, 510 00:25:31,100 --> 00:25:33,900 because I'm looking at what we think is a war grave 511 00:25:33,933 --> 00:25:35,566 which has women in it. 512 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,533 And to have examples like this, 513 00:25:38,566 --> 00:25:41,066 where the woman is represented in that warrior role, 514 00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:42,833 we have to take that back to Repton 515 00:25:42,866 --> 00:25:44,033 and think about those women. 516 00:25:44,066 --> 00:25:46,600 ♪ 517 00:25:46,633 --> 00:25:51,033 NARRATOR: The bones of some of the Repton women bear scars, 518 00:25:51,066 --> 00:25:53,500 perhaps of battle. 519 00:25:53,533 --> 00:25:58,200 And they were buried alongside male warriors. 520 00:25:58,233 --> 00:26:02,500 Could they have been shield-maidens, too? 521 00:26:05,633 --> 00:26:07,833 HORTON: In, out. 522 00:26:07,866 --> 00:26:09,633 In, out. 523 00:26:09,666 --> 00:26:11,633 In, out. 524 00:26:11,666 --> 00:26:13,400 NARRATOR: On the Trent, 525 00:26:13,433 --> 00:26:15,166 Mark's crew of modern-day Vikings 526 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,633 is a mile from their landing site 527 00:26:17,666 --> 00:26:19,333 just outside Repton. 528 00:26:19,366 --> 00:26:21,733 HORTON: It's quite a difference now, isn't it, 529 00:26:21,766 --> 00:26:23,966 the wind's against us? 530 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,700 It's actually incredibly hard work. 531 00:26:26,733 --> 00:26:28,500 ETHERIDGE: Starboard side, big strokes. 532 00:26:28,533 --> 00:26:30,433 MAN: Keep going. 533 00:26:30,466 --> 00:26:32,533 (yelps) 534 00:26:30,466 --> 00:26:32,533 Keep pulling, starboard side. 535 00:26:32,566 --> 00:26:35,766 (oar master calling orders) 536 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,766 NARRATOR: By the time the Great Army reached Mercia, 537 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,100 it had conquered most of Anglo-Saxon England, 538 00:26:43,133 --> 00:26:47,633 but not just with strong-armed tactics. 539 00:26:47,666 --> 00:26:49,333 ♪ 540 00:26:49,366 --> 00:26:51,633 The "Chronicle" tells us the Vikings struck peace deals 541 00:26:51,666 --> 00:26:54,466 with embattled communities 542 00:26:54,500 --> 00:26:59,300 and replaced local rulers with puppet kings. 543 00:26:59,333 --> 00:27:01,966 ♪ 544 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,166 (oar master calling orders) 545 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,333 NARRATOR: It also records 546 00:27:07,366 --> 00:27:11,000 how the army camped for the winter at Repton. 547 00:27:11,033 --> 00:27:12,266 Have you ever beached a longboat before? 548 00:27:12,300 --> 00:27:14,500 ETHERIDGE: No, first time for this. 549 00:27:14,533 --> 00:27:15,766 We're going to give it a go. 550 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,166 (blowing horn) 551 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,800 (shouting happily) 552 00:27:21,833 --> 00:27:24,100 NARRATOR: Viking nails found by the river 553 00:27:24,133 --> 00:27:25,966 suggest the invaders dragged their boats ashore 554 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:27,333 for repairs. 555 00:27:27,366 --> 00:27:29,166 But they left no record of how. 556 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:31,166 HORTON: This is terrifying. 557 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:37,033 ♪ 558 00:27:37,066 --> 00:27:38,833 NARRATOR: So Steve's crew... 559 00:27:38,866 --> 00:27:42,133 Put it down there, so Daddy can get up. 560 00:27:42,166 --> 00:27:43,833 NARRATOR: ...and their friends and family on the bank... 561 00:27:43,866 --> 00:27:45,733 WOMAN: Okay, another roller! 562 00:27:45,766 --> 00:27:47,366 NARRATOR: ... will improvise. 563 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,033 Heave! 564 00:27:49,066 --> 00:27:50,200 (straining): Come on. 565 00:27:50,233 --> 00:27:53,100 MEN: Pull! Pull! 566 00:27:53,133 --> 00:27:54,666 We've got so far, and we're stuck. 567 00:27:58,066 --> 00:27:59,566 HORTON: Hi, there! 568 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,133 We're having a struggle. 569 00:28:01,166 --> 00:28:02,500 (Horton chuckling) 570 00:28:02,533 --> 00:28:06,000 NARRATOR: Luckily, Mark spots a passing boat crew. 571 00:28:06,033 --> 00:28:10,600 MAN: One, two, three, heave! 572 00:28:10,633 --> 00:28:11,733 (men struggling) 573 00:28:11,766 --> 00:28:12,766 (men cheering) 574 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:13,766 MAN: That'll do. 575 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:15,000 MAN: Let's stop there. 576 00:28:15,033 --> 00:28:16,100 (laughing): Yeah. 577 00:28:16,133 --> 00:28:18,500 MAN: That worked, yes. 578 00:28:16,133 --> 00:28:18,500 (cheering) 579 00:28:20,866 --> 00:28:23,266 NARRATOR: Now our team can set up camp, 580 00:28:23,300 --> 00:28:25,533 just as their Viking forebears did. 581 00:28:26,733 --> 00:28:27,800 HORTON: So, I mean, what makes one think 582 00:28:27,833 --> 00:28:29,966 is actually just how important it was. 583 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,066 ETHERIDGE: Yeah. 584 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:33,100 To come to dry land for the winter. 585 00:28:33,133 --> 00:28:34,300 Yeah, we've been struggling today. 586 00:28:34,333 --> 00:28:35,566 HORTON: Yeah. 587 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,066 And you want to find somewhere 588 00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:39,166 where you can pull your boats up, 589 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:40,266 make yourself secure. 590 00:28:40,300 --> 00:28:43,133 You're staying here until spring, 591 00:28:43,166 --> 00:28:44,666 and then the raiding begins again. 592 00:28:44,700 --> 00:28:46,733 ♪ 593 00:28:46,766 --> 00:28:48,800 NARRATOR: The army often hunkered down 594 00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:51,600 through the worst of the winter weather. 595 00:28:51,633 --> 00:28:54,566 But what happened inside their temporary camps 596 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,266 had been lost to history, 597 00:28:58,300 --> 00:29:00,333 until a series of recent discoveries 598 00:29:00,366 --> 00:29:03,466 made at a site 60 miles downriver, 599 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:06,133 called Torksey. 600 00:29:06,166 --> 00:29:10,100 The chroniclers record the army sat out winter 601 00:29:10,133 --> 00:29:12,033 in these Lincolnshire fields 602 00:29:12,066 --> 00:29:16,100 the year before they reached Repton. 603 00:29:16,133 --> 00:29:19,900 Now a team of metal detectorists and archaeologists 604 00:29:19,933 --> 00:29:22,500 has unearthed intriguing evidence 605 00:29:22,533 --> 00:29:24,200 of that occupation. 606 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,900 JULIAN RICHARDS: We've got about 2,000 finds. 607 00:29:27,933 --> 00:29:29,300 Most of the objects that are here 608 00:29:29,333 --> 00:29:31,033 have been brought to the site as plunder. 609 00:29:31,066 --> 00:29:33,766 It's, it's the stuff that they've looted 610 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,633 from mainly Anglo-Saxon churches 611 00:29:35,666 --> 00:29:39,533 over the previous season of campaigning. 612 00:29:39,566 --> 00:29:41,900 And they're bringing it here, melting it down, 613 00:29:41,933 --> 00:29:46,133 turning it into other objects, trading with it, so forth. 614 00:29:46,166 --> 00:29:49,866 And, as well as all the, the small objects, the loot, 615 00:29:49,900 --> 00:29:53,166 we've also got quite a lot of iron objects from the site. 616 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,500 We've got here the hilt from a sword. 617 00:29:55,533 --> 00:29:56,700 You can see that the hole there 618 00:29:56,733 --> 00:29:58,900 is where the blade would have passed through. 619 00:29:58,933 --> 00:30:01,000 And we do have a number of axes. 620 00:30:01,033 --> 00:30:03,966 This was found just this last year. 621 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,566 But my favorite objects are actually these. 622 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,366 These are gaming pieces. 623 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,100 You can imagine them overwintering, 624 00:30:14,133 --> 00:30:16,566 they've got a lot of leisure time. 625 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,966 In total, we've got over 300 of these gaming pieces. 626 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,266 ♪ 627 00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:23,800 They seem to provide a bit 628 00:30:23,833 --> 00:30:25,500 of what we, we call the signature 629 00:30:25,533 --> 00:30:26,800 of the Viking Great Army. 630 00:30:26,833 --> 00:30:29,400 ♪ 631 00:30:29,433 --> 00:30:33,500 NARRATOR: These modest lumps of lead are unique to Vikings, 632 00:30:33,533 --> 00:30:36,366 and the calling card of the Heathen Army. 633 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,733 (fire crackling) 634 00:30:38,766 --> 00:30:40,966 Archaeologist Adam Parsons 635 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,566 has been researching how they were used 636 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,300 in a game called Hnefatafl. 637 00:30:49,233 --> 00:30:50,300 HORTON: Can I have a little look? 638 00:30:50,333 --> 00:30:51,400 Of course you can. 639 00:30:51,433 --> 00:30:53,933 So if you now make your gaming board 640 00:30:53,966 --> 00:30:55,133 and auger some little holes in it, 641 00:30:55,166 --> 00:30:56,866 and you could now place that piece in there, 642 00:30:56,900 --> 00:30:58,000 and whether it's on a ship, 643 00:30:58,033 --> 00:30:59,766 or somebody drunk in a camp gambling, 644 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,700 wouldn't knock the board over. 645 00:31:02,733 --> 00:31:04,666 The crucial thing archaeologically, of course, 646 00:31:04,700 --> 00:31:06,100 the peg would rot away. 647 00:31:04,700 --> 00:31:06,100 Yeah. 648 00:31:06,133 --> 00:31:07,366 So when you find them, 649 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:08,866 they've got a small hole in the bottom of them. 650 00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:11,200 Because we would just think it would be an empty hole. 651 00:31:11,233 --> 00:31:12,800 Mm-hmm. 652 00:31:12,833 --> 00:31:14,633 So how was the game actually played? 653 00:31:14,666 --> 00:31:16,200 Well, from what we can tell, 654 00:31:16,233 --> 00:31:17,733 there was a king piece that was placed 655 00:31:17,766 --> 00:31:19,800 in the center of the board, 656 00:31:19,833 --> 00:31:20,866 and he had a small army 657 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:22,666 of perhaps 12 men surrounding him. 658 00:31:22,700 --> 00:31:23,966 And the king's job was to either escape 659 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,833 to the corner or the edge of the board. 660 00:31:25,866 --> 00:31:27,100 This is a kind 661 00:31:27,133 --> 00:31:28,666 of everyman's game. 662 00:31:27,133 --> 00:31:28,666 Exactly. 663 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:29,833 The soldiers in the camp 664 00:31:29,866 --> 00:31:31,600 can make these pieces quickly and cheaply, 665 00:31:31,633 --> 00:31:32,700 make a cheap wooden board, 666 00:31:32,733 --> 00:31:34,200 perhaps even scratch one in the dirt. 667 00:31:34,233 --> 00:31:37,833 It means that they can while away these boring, wet evenings, 668 00:31:37,866 --> 00:31:39,000 you know, 669 00:31:39,033 --> 00:31:40,600 perhaps gambling away some of the, the money 670 00:31:40,633 --> 00:31:42,666 they've just stolen from various places. 671 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:44,966 But also, the key thing is, they're so easy to lose. 672 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,033 Yes. 673 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,033 And that's what's so good for archaeology. 674 00:31:47,066 --> 00:31:48,900 You just drop them down there in the grass, 675 00:31:48,933 --> 00:31:49,933 and they're gone. 676 00:31:49,966 --> 00:31:52,900 ♪ 677 00:31:52,933 --> 00:31:57,900 NARRATOR: Archaeologists have learned to cherish such humble finds, 678 00:31:57,933 --> 00:32:01,366 as the Vikings rarely left dramatic relics behind. 679 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,733 (drone buzzing) 680 00:32:04,766 --> 00:32:08,233 But at Repton, they made an exception. 681 00:32:08,266 --> 00:32:09,933 HORTON: Some 40 years ago, 682 00:32:09,966 --> 00:32:11,200 we found the end 683 00:32:11,233 --> 00:32:13,533 of what appears to be a great Viking fortification. 684 00:32:13,566 --> 00:32:17,600 What we seem to have found is a kind of D-Shaped enclosure. 685 00:32:17,633 --> 00:32:18,833 The trouble is 686 00:32:18,866 --> 00:32:21,100 that surface indications have all disappeared. 687 00:32:22,966 --> 00:32:27,266 NARRATOR: While excavating the Viking burials in the 1980s, 688 00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:29,600 the archaeologists uncovered traces 689 00:32:29,633 --> 00:32:32,200 of a massive defensive ditch. 690 00:32:32,233 --> 00:32:34,800 HORTON: We can begin to lay it out. 691 00:32:34,833 --> 00:32:37,566 One, two, three, four. 692 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:38,600 About here. 693 00:32:38,633 --> 00:32:40,000 NARRATOR: They only excavated 694 00:32:40,033 --> 00:32:41,733 a few sections of the structure. 695 00:32:41,766 --> 00:32:43,633 HORTON: Three, and four. 696 00:32:43,666 --> 00:32:45,433 Here, I think. 697 00:32:45,466 --> 00:32:49,600 NARRATOR: Now, Mark wants to reveal the whole picture 698 00:32:49,633 --> 00:32:51,566 for the first time. 699 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:55,000 HORTON: It's actually only by laying it out on the ground 700 00:32:55,033 --> 00:32:57,566 that one can really understand how it worked 701 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,566 and get back into the ninth-century shape of the land. 702 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:05,333 (drone buzzing) 703 00:33:05,366 --> 00:33:08,800 Okay, so let's put it... which way are we facing? 704 00:33:08,833 --> 00:33:10,600 Where is it? 705 00:33:10,633 --> 00:33:13,000 ♪ 706 00:33:13,033 --> 00:33:16,100 There we go. 707 00:33:16,133 --> 00:33:17,566 Oh, I can see it. 708 00:33:18,866 --> 00:33:21,633 It looks beautiful. 709 00:33:21,666 --> 00:33:24,333 What you can actually see is the exact shape of the enclosure. 710 00:33:24,366 --> 00:33:27,366 ♪ 711 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,500 NARRATOR: The enclosure opened onto the River Trent, 712 00:33:30,533 --> 00:33:35,133 which used to run close to the church. 713 00:33:35,166 --> 00:33:38,300 When the archaeologists first discovered the ditch, 714 00:33:38,333 --> 00:33:40,300 they believed it could have encircled 715 00:33:40,333 --> 00:33:42,733 the Vikings' winter camp. 716 00:33:42,766 --> 00:33:46,166 But Mark has a problem with this theory. 717 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:47,900 HORTON: One thing that immediately strikes me 718 00:33:47,933 --> 00:33:49,800 is just how small it is. 719 00:33:49,833 --> 00:33:52,233 It's scarcely more than four acres. 720 00:33:52,266 --> 00:33:54,233 I mean, you know, you could just about squeeze 721 00:33:54,266 --> 00:33:56,466 maybe 1,000 men shoulder to shoulder. 722 00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:59,933 Don't forget, they've also got to have their ships 723 00:33:59,966 --> 00:34:03,366 and their workshops and all the other things that go with it. 724 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:04,866 I mean, it was a tiny area. 725 00:34:04,900 --> 00:34:07,566 ♪ 726 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,333 NARRATOR: Is it possible that the Great Army 727 00:34:10,366 --> 00:34:12,966 was in reality not that great in size? 728 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,466 (drone buzzing) 729 00:34:15,500 --> 00:34:16,933 HORTON: Right. 730 00:34:16,966 --> 00:34:19,733 NARRATOR: That's what some historians have concluded. 731 00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:22,600 But at Torksey, 732 00:34:22,633 --> 00:34:25,900 the archaeologists' recent finds are scattered 733 00:34:25,933 --> 00:34:29,199 across a site 30 times larger. 734 00:34:29,233 --> 00:34:31,333 RICHARDS: This is a huge site, 735 00:34:31,366 --> 00:34:34,000 135 acres in total. 736 00:34:34,033 --> 00:34:39,833 That has implications for the size of the Viking army. 737 00:34:39,866 --> 00:34:44,000 You've got to imagine behind me what is in effect a small town, 738 00:34:44,033 --> 00:34:45,699 a sort of bustling area. 739 00:34:45,733 --> 00:34:48,100 And given the scale of the camp, 740 00:34:48,133 --> 00:34:49,233 we think that probably it was up 741 00:34:49,266 --> 00:34:52,466 to about 5,000 warriors and camp followers. 742 00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:57,266 This is a huge number of people to be gathered in one place. 743 00:34:57,300 --> 00:35:00,766 It's larger than most Anglo-Saxon towns. 744 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:02,433 ♪ 745 00:35:02,466 --> 00:35:06,866 NARRATOR: But if there were 5,000 Vikings camping at Torksey, 746 00:35:06,900 --> 00:35:11,633 where did they stay when they reached Repton? 747 00:35:11,666 --> 00:35:18,900 (metal detector beeping intermittently) 748 00:35:18,933 --> 00:35:23,400 A local metal detectorist may have found some crucial clues. 749 00:35:23,433 --> 00:35:25,533 (detector beeping) 750 00:35:25,566 --> 00:35:26,700 ♪ 751 00:35:26,733 --> 00:35:28,833 Cat's on her way to meet him. 752 00:35:28,866 --> 00:35:31,866 JARMAN: I'm really, really excited and intrigued 753 00:35:31,900 --> 00:35:34,900 to find out what this guy has actually discovered. 754 00:35:34,933 --> 00:35:37,366 ♪ 755 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,900 Repton is kind of full of unresolved questions, really. 756 00:35:39,933 --> 00:35:40,966 There's a lot we don't understand, 757 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,633 there are things that aren't there. 758 00:35:42,666 --> 00:35:43,800 And these things that he's found 759 00:35:43,833 --> 00:35:46,900 could be exactly what we've been looking for. 760 00:35:46,933 --> 00:35:48,166 The actual missing link. 761 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:49,933 ♪ 762 00:35:49,966 --> 00:35:52,900 NARRATOR: Rob Davis is a specialist metalworker 763 00:35:52,933 --> 00:35:54,866 and keen amateur historian. 764 00:35:54,900 --> 00:35:56,166 I've just brought a good selection. 765 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:57,533 Oh, wow. 766 00:35:57,566 --> 00:36:01,166 NARRATOR: He's been quietly finding Viking artifacts 767 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,766 on a stretch of farmland near Repton 768 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,100 for more than a decade. 769 00:36:05,133 --> 00:36:06,633 ♪ 770 00:36:06,666 --> 00:36:12,866 Now he's invited Cat to see his collection for the first time. 771 00:36:14,233 --> 00:36:15,400 These are so brilliant. 772 00:36:15,433 --> 00:36:17,500 (chuckling): Um, and I just want to pick them up 773 00:36:17,533 --> 00:36:18,666 and look at them. 774 00:36:17,533 --> 00:36:18,666 Yes. 775 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,000 It's a nice Scandinavian brooch here. 776 00:36:21,033 --> 00:36:22,933 Oh, wow, yeah. 777 00:36:22,966 --> 00:36:24,533 That's beautiful. 778 00:36:24,566 --> 00:36:28,333 That is typical Viking type of brooch. 779 00:36:28,366 --> 00:36:29,366 The day I found that, 780 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,166 I found the pendant. 781 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,200 A Thor's hammer pendant. 782 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,200 Oh, wow. 783 00:36:34,233 --> 00:36:37,500 That's incredible. 784 00:36:37,533 --> 00:36:41,133 You can't really get much more Viking than that, can you? 785 00:36:41,166 --> 00:36:46,533 It's almost identical to the one found in Repton 786 00:36:46,566 --> 00:36:52,166 around the neck of the warrior. 787 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,566 This is just shouting, "Viking Army," isn't it, really? 788 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,566 Yeah. 789 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:57,066 ♪ 790 00:36:57,100 --> 00:37:01,200 This is exactly the sort of thing we're looking for 791 00:37:01,233 --> 00:37:02,700 when we're looking for Great Army sites. 792 00:37:02,733 --> 00:37:07,133 And these are all from the same fields? 793 00:37:07,166 --> 00:37:08,566 Yes, all, all from the same field. 794 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:09,800 One field in particular. 795 00:37:09,833 --> 00:37:14,700 ♪ 796 00:37:14,733 --> 00:37:17,266 NARRATOR: Rob made his extraordinary discoveries 797 00:37:17,300 --> 00:37:18,500 on this hillside, 798 00:37:18,533 --> 00:37:21,866 just outside the tiny hamlet of Foremark, 799 00:37:21,900 --> 00:37:24,766 two miles east of Repton. 800 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,666 JARMAN: So most of this seems to be coming out from the field 801 00:37:28,700 --> 00:37:30,066 just behind that tree, 802 00:37:30,100 --> 00:37:32,033 that's the one over in the middle, is that right? 803 00:37:32,066 --> 00:37:33,766 That is the main field. 804 00:37:32,066 --> 00:37:33,766 Yeah. 805 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,366 NARRATOR: Unlike some metal detectorists, who frustrate archaeologists 806 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,333 by removing artifacts from sites 807 00:37:40,366 --> 00:37:42,966 without recording where they found them, 808 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,900 Rob has kept a careful record, which Cat can now use 809 00:37:45,933 --> 00:37:48,000 to begin mapping the ancient history 810 00:37:48,033 --> 00:37:50,033 of this landscape. 811 00:37:50,066 --> 00:37:53,733 JARMAN: Foremark Church, which is right here. 812 00:37:53,766 --> 00:37:56,933 It stems from a Scandinavian name, "Fornwerk," 813 00:37:56,966 --> 00:37:59,700 which means "the old fortification." 814 00:37:59,733 --> 00:38:03,300 JARMAN: So it's like the clue was in the name all the time, 815 00:38:03,333 --> 00:38:04,600 and we just didn't realize. 816 00:38:04,633 --> 00:38:07,166 ♪ 817 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:10,700 I think we've got a really, really important site here. 818 00:38:13,266 --> 00:38:18,800 NARRATOR: Rob's discoveries place the Vikings at Foremark. 819 00:38:18,833 --> 00:38:20,600 ♪ 820 00:38:20,633 --> 00:38:24,133 Was it here on top of this hill, rather than at Repton, 821 00:38:24,166 --> 00:38:28,400 that the army spent the winter of 873? 822 00:38:28,433 --> 00:38:31,700 Cat wants to find out. 823 00:38:31,733 --> 00:38:34,833 JARMAN: We've got the fields that Rob has been detecting, 824 00:38:34,866 --> 00:38:36,833 literally just on the other side of this fence. 825 00:38:36,866 --> 00:38:38,266 That's all been plowed. 826 00:38:38,300 --> 00:38:40,200 That means that Rob's been able to go across it 827 00:38:40,233 --> 00:38:41,966 and find all those metal artifacts 828 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:43,866 that, that come up with a plow, 829 00:38:43,900 --> 00:38:46,200 and that's not great for us as archaeologists, 830 00:38:46,233 --> 00:38:49,500 because it actually ruins a lot of the archaeology. 831 00:38:49,533 --> 00:38:52,200 But here, nobody's actually done any plowing 832 00:38:52,233 --> 00:38:54,000 or any sort of recent agriculture. 833 00:38:54,033 --> 00:38:55,366 ♪ 834 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,033 NARRATOR: Because plowing rips ancient artifacts 835 00:38:58,066 --> 00:38:59,833 from their archaeological context, 836 00:38:59,866 --> 00:39:04,166 Cat's assembled a team to search for traces of the winter camp 837 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,400 in the only part of this land 838 00:39:06,433 --> 00:39:09,733 which has not been intensively farmed. 839 00:39:09,766 --> 00:39:11,733 ♪ 840 00:39:11,766 --> 00:39:16,166 JARMAN: We have no idea how far down we need to go. 841 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:17,633 I'm definitely feeling very nervous about it, 842 00:39:17,666 --> 00:39:21,566 because I've had to pick a spot out of this giant field, 843 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:24,366 and I could have picked entirely the wrong spot. 844 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,900 It could all go terribly wrong, 845 00:39:26,933 --> 00:39:29,200 or we could find something amazing. 846 00:39:29,233 --> 00:39:34,400 ♪ 847 00:39:34,433 --> 00:39:38,800 NARRATOR: If the army did camp at Foremark in 873, 848 00:39:38,833 --> 00:39:40,433 it still doesn't explain 849 00:39:40,466 --> 00:39:45,933 why there are so many bodies buried back at Repton. 850 00:39:45,966 --> 00:39:48,166 But there has been a development 851 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:51,166 in the search to identify the mutilated warrior 852 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:54,733 buried near the church. 853 00:39:54,766 --> 00:39:56,033 Next to him, 854 00:39:56,066 --> 00:40:00,300 the archaeologists found the remains of a younger man. 855 00:40:00,333 --> 00:40:02,800 The close proximity of the two bodies 856 00:40:02,833 --> 00:40:07,933 suggests they may have known one another in life. 857 00:40:07,966 --> 00:40:08,966 Hey, hi, Lars. 858 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:10,066 (on computer): Hey, Cat, how are you? 859 00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:11,666 I'm good, thanks, how are you? 860 00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:15,266 NARRATOR: Cat's had DNA analysis done 861 00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:17,833 on both men's remains. 862 00:40:17,866 --> 00:40:19,100 It's actually quite exciting. 863 00:40:19,133 --> 00:40:21,066 We can now definitely confirm that the warrior 864 00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:23,133 and the other burial found with the warrior 865 00:40:23,166 --> 00:40:25,033 are first-degree relatives. 866 00:40:25,066 --> 00:40:26,666 Oh, brilliant. 867 00:40:25,066 --> 00:40:26,666 And it gets better. 868 00:40:26,700 --> 00:40:29,200 We can say that they didn't have the same mother, 869 00:40:29,233 --> 00:40:31,733 but that they have the same paternal lineage, 870 00:40:31,766 --> 00:40:34,900 which actually only leaves that they were father and son. 871 00:40:34,933 --> 00:40:36,533 That's wonderful. 872 00:40:36,566 --> 00:40:38,700 ♪ 873 00:40:38,733 --> 00:40:41,666 That's something very new. 874 00:40:41,700 --> 00:40:45,300 We suspected they had some kind of close relationship, 875 00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:48,300 but there was no way of knowing that. 876 00:40:48,333 --> 00:40:49,300 This is so unique. 877 00:40:49,333 --> 00:40:50,533 As far as we know, 878 00:40:50,566 --> 00:40:53,466 there are no other known father-son burials. 879 00:40:53,500 --> 00:40:55,333 We know there are lots of other double graves 880 00:40:55,366 --> 00:40:56,466 in the Viking worlds, 881 00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:57,966 but we've never been able to find out 882 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,966 what the relationship is between those two individuals, 883 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,933 so I'm, I'm just thrilled. 884 00:41:02,966 --> 00:41:05,833 ♪ 885 00:41:05,866 --> 00:41:10,833 NARRATOR: The revelation that the warrior is buried with his son 886 00:41:10,866 --> 00:41:13,366 narrows down the historical candidates 887 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:16,600 as to who he might be. 888 00:41:16,633 --> 00:41:21,566 "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" offers no clues. 889 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:25,000 So Cat has asked medieval historian Clare Downham 890 00:41:25,033 --> 00:41:28,500 to follow a lead in another ancient text, 891 00:41:28,533 --> 00:41:30,133 this time from Ireland. 892 00:41:30,166 --> 00:41:34,133 It's called "The Annals of Ulster." 893 00:41:34,166 --> 00:41:35,466 This tells us 894 00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:38,033 about a really interesting father-and-son relationship 895 00:41:38,066 --> 00:41:41,033 which might tie in to the burials at Repton. 896 00:41:42,033 --> 00:41:47,066 Their names are Olaf and his son Eisten. 897 00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:50,166 NARRATOR: Written in Middle Irish and Latin, 898 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:53,333 the "Annals" record the exploits of King Olaf, 899 00:41:53,366 --> 00:41:55,766 a Viking chieftain based in Ireland 900 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,333 who led raids around Britain. 901 00:41:59,366 --> 00:42:03,866 (reading "Annals" in Middle Irish) 902 00:42:03,900 --> 00:42:08,366 (continues reading) 903 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:12,766 So this is, "Olaf returns to Dublin from Alba," 904 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:14,066 which is North Britain, 905 00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:16,766 "with a fleet of 200 ships." 906 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:20,300 And these ships contain all the accumulated booty 907 00:42:20,333 --> 00:42:21,400 from their years 908 00:42:21,433 --> 00:42:24,500 of raiding and traveling around in Britain. 909 00:42:24,533 --> 00:42:26,900 ♪ 910 00:42:26,933 --> 00:42:29,766 NARRATOR: The "Annals" tell us it was in Scotland 911 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,800 that Olaf finally met his match. 912 00:42:32,833 --> 00:42:35,033 DOWNHAM: This time, he's trying to gather taxes and tributes 913 00:42:35,066 --> 00:42:37,033 from the Scottish people, 914 00:42:37,066 --> 00:42:39,400 which of course would make him deeply unpopular. 915 00:42:43,300 --> 00:42:45,333 In the year 874, 916 00:42:45,366 --> 00:42:47,133 he's raiding around Scotland, 917 00:42:47,166 --> 00:42:48,866 and the king of Scotland at that time 918 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:51,166 encounters Olaf and kills him. 919 00:42:55,766 --> 00:42:59,300 NARRATOR: Could the body then have been carried to Repton 920 00:42:59,333 --> 00:43:03,866 and there, the following year, have been joined by his son, 921 00:43:03,900 --> 00:43:09,433 who was also killed in battle? 922 00:43:09,466 --> 00:43:11,300 (bell tolls) 923 00:43:11,333 --> 00:43:15,000 But if the two bodies are Olaf and Eisten, 924 00:43:15,033 --> 00:43:17,400 why would pagan Vikings carry their dead 925 00:43:17,433 --> 00:43:18,900 from distant battlefields 926 00:43:18,933 --> 00:43:21,833 and lay them to rest in the Christian burial place 927 00:43:21,866 --> 00:43:23,466 of Anglo-Saxon kings? 928 00:43:25,966 --> 00:43:28,633 Archaeologist Howard Williams has a theory. 929 00:43:30,066 --> 00:43:32,066 WILLIAMS: Given the political and the religious importance 930 00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:35,633 of Repton for the Mercian kings, 931 00:43:35,666 --> 00:43:38,166 the Viking Army coming here has a modern-day equivalent 932 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:40,500 in taking over both Buckingham Palace 933 00:43:40,533 --> 00:43:42,733 and Saint Paul's Cathedral together. 934 00:43:42,766 --> 00:43:49,233 So we have to see this as a grandstand political gesture. 935 00:43:49,266 --> 00:43:53,533 The mass grave would have been not simply a burial, 936 00:43:53,566 --> 00:43:56,466 but a monument in the landscape. 937 00:43:56,500 --> 00:43:58,966 It allowed you to show your claims to the land 938 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:00,566 and your, your assertion 939 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:02,800 that you intend to be here for generations. 940 00:44:02,833 --> 00:44:06,800 ♪ 941 00:44:11,533 --> 00:44:14,000 NARRATOR: Perhaps the mass grave at Repton 942 00:44:14,033 --> 00:44:17,400 is at last giving up its secrets. 943 00:44:19,733 --> 00:44:24,100 But it still leaves the mystery of where the army camped 944 00:44:24,133 --> 00:44:26,100 through the winter of 873. 945 00:44:27,633 --> 00:44:32,566 And the new dig at Foremark is not offering any answers. 946 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:34,133 We've been here for a few days now, 947 00:44:34,166 --> 00:44:36,766 and our best finds so far 948 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,900 are a Victorian marble and a musket ball. 949 00:44:42,533 --> 00:44:43,866 I still think we are in the right place. 950 00:44:43,900 --> 00:44:46,900 We just have to work out how to, to find the Vikings. 951 00:44:48,900 --> 00:44:50,666 NARRATOR: But in a far corner of the site, 952 00:44:50,700 --> 00:44:54,166 metal detectorist Rob has found something intriguing 953 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:55,700 a foot beneath the surface. 954 00:44:55,733 --> 00:44:56,700 Right, what have you got? 955 00:44:56,733 --> 00:44:59,133 Quite a deep piece of iron. 956 00:44:59,166 --> 00:45:00,366 You can just see the rust there. 957 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:01,533 Yeah, okay. 958 00:45:01,566 --> 00:45:03,266 (trowel scraping) 959 00:45:07,700 --> 00:45:10,766 Hmm. 960 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,566 Looks very much like a plowshare. 961 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:16,733 NARRATOR: It's not what anyone was expecting to find 962 00:45:16,766 --> 00:45:18,500 in a Viking campsite. 963 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,900 A plowshare is the blade of a plow, 964 00:45:22,933 --> 00:45:25,166 designed to cut a channel through the soil 965 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:28,866 into which crops would be planted. 966 00:45:28,900 --> 00:45:32,066 Used in Britain from the seventh century, 967 00:45:32,100 --> 00:45:34,066 these were precious pieces of equipment. 968 00:45:34,100 --> 00:45:35,500 Yeah, it's brilliant. 969 00:45:35,533 --> 00:45:38,533 An enormous piece of iron that is. 970 00:45:38,566 --> 00:45:42,666 People don't leave plowshares just lying around. 971 00:45:42,700 --> 00:45:44,633 This is their livelihood. 972 00:45:44,666 --> 00:45:46,033 If they lose something like that, 973 00:45:46,066 --> 00:45:47,300 you would literally starve, 974 00:45:47,333 --> 00:45:48,833 because you couldn't cultivate your fields. 975 00:45:48,866 --> 00:45:50,533 So this quite exceptional. 976 00:45:50,566 --> 00:45:52,666 They're really very rare finds. 977 00:45:52,700 --> 00:45:55,733 ♪ 978 00:45:57,666 --> 00:46:00,500 NARRATOR: 11th-century records reveal 979 00:46:00,533 --> 00:46:03,266 there was once an Anglo-Saxon settlement on this site. 980 00:46:05,300 --> 00:46:10,700 But why would its inhabitants abandon such an important item? 981 00:46:10,733 --> 00:46:14,066 ♪ 982 00:46:14,100 --> 00:46:18,366 The plowshare has told the team how deep they need to dig 983 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:20,266 to look for further traces of habitation, 984 00:46:20,300 --> 00:46:23,866 so they can step it up a gear. 985 00:46:23,900 --> 00:46:25,500 (engine running) 986 00:46:25,533 --> 00:46:29,400 HORTON: Digging stuff out by hand is really boring. 987 00:46:29,433 --> 00:46:33,166 ♪ 988 00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:38,266 This bucket enables us to get down to the archaeology 989 00:46:38,300 --> 00:46:40,133 much more quickly. 990 00:46:40,166 --> 00:46:42,100 This will do just the job. 991 00:46:42,133 --> 00:46:43,966 ♪ 992 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:45,933 God knows what's in that one. 993 00:46:45,966 --> 00:46:50,166 ♪ 994 00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:53,400 (talking in background) 995 00:46:53,433 --> 00:46:55,400 There's something there. 996 00:46:55,433 --> 00:46:57,233 (detector emitting tone) 997 00:46:57,266 --> 00:46:59,766 (scanner beeping) 998 00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:01,033 Wow. 999 00:47:01,066 --> 00:47:03,100 (chuckling) 1000 00:47:03,133 --> 00:47:04,933 JARMAN: You found me something? 1001 00:47:04,966 --> 00:47:07,533 HORTON: We have something to show you. 1002 00:47:07,566 --> 00:47:11,266 ♪ 1003 00:47:11,300 --> 00:47:12,466 Ah! 1004 00:47:12,500 --> 00:47:14,000 Amazing. 1005 00:47:14,033 --> 00:47:16,000 Yes. 1006 00:47:16,033 --> 00:47:17,400 That's brilliant-- it's a gaming piece. 1007 00:47:17,433 --> 00:47:19,233 Hole in the bottom. 1008 00:47:17,433 --> 00:47:19,233 Yep. 1009 00:47:19,266 --> 00:47:20,900 (cheering) 1010 00:47:20,933 --> 00:47:23,166 (laughing) 1011 00:47:20,933 --> 00:47:23,166 Brilliant. 1012 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:25,066 This is what we're looking for. 1013 00:47:25,100 --> 00:47:29,300 NARRATOR: This lead gaming piece is almost identical 1014 00:47:29,333 --> 00:47:31,766 to those found at Torksey. 1015 00:47:31,800 --> 00:47:33,066 That's the presence of the Viking army. 1016 00:47:33,100 --> 00:47:34,466 Yeah, I mean, this is the smoking gun, 1017 00:47:34,500 --> 00:47:35,733 isn't it? 1018 00:47:34,500 --> 00:47:35,733 That's right. 1019 00:47:35,766 --> 00:47:38,866 (trowels scraping) 1020 00:47:38,900 --> 00:47:44,700 (wind whistling) 1021 00:47:44,733 --> 00:47:48,833 NARRATOR: The gaming piece was found only 30 feet away 1022 00:47:48,866 --> 00:47:50,666 from where the plowshare was discovered. 1023 00:47:51,933 --> 00:47:57,133 And now that spot of earth is beginning to tell its story. 1024 00:47:57,166 --> 00:47:58,900 See it there, yes. 1025 00:47:57,166 --> 00:47:58,900 What's that? Yeah. 1026 00:47:58,933 --> 00:48:01,033 HORTON: You can see where it's got a lot redder. 1027 00:48:01,066 --> 00:48:03,900 JARMAN: It's really clear. 1028 00:48:03,933 --> 00:48:05,366 I would say that this orange sand here 1029 00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:06,500 and the red sand 1030 00:48:06,533 --> 00:48:08,833 is evidence of burning. 1031 00:48:08,866 --> 00:48:12,300 Because when you burn sand at a high temperature, 1032 00:48:12,333 --> 00:48:14,433 it goes to all of these beautiful sunset colors. 1033 00:48:14,466 --> 00:48:15,500 These are some of the things 1034 00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:17,166 that have come out of this trench here, 1035 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:19,433 in this area that we are associating with the burning. 1036 00:48:19,466 --> 00:48:22,266 We have found a huge amount of charcoal, 1037 00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:24,400 some really, really big lumps, and these are brilliant, 1038 00:48:24,433 --> 00:48:27,266 because you can actually see that these are planks of wood. 1039 00:48:27,300 --> 00:48:29,100 They were found in a nice, rectangular line 1040 00:48:29,133 --> 00:48:31,100 and putting it all together, 1041 00:48:31,133 --> 00:48:34,466 we seem to be getting a building, 1042 00:48:34,500 --> 00:48:36,700 and that building may well have burnt down. 1043 00:48:36,733 --> 00:48:37,933 HORTON: Okay, I've got a theory. 1044 00:48:37,966 --> 00:48:41,233 Do we have a Pompeii moment 1045 00:48:41,266 --> 00:48:42,166 down there, hmm? 1046 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:43,833 (laughing): Okay. 1047 00:48:43,866 --> 00:48:47,966 HORTON: By which I mean, a catastrophic event happens 1048 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,933 and freezes everything in time. 1049 00:48:51,966 --> 00:48:54,333 This is actually a Saxon building. 1050 00:48:54,366 --> 00:48:56,400 We know the Vikings are here. 1051 00:48:54,366 --> 00:48:56,400 Yeah. 1052 00:48:56,433 --> 00:48:58,666 HORTON: They're burning Saxon houses down. 1053 00:48:58,700 --> 00:49:02,133 The inhabitants fled, 1054 00:49:02,166 --> 00:49:04,333 and nobody came back to recover the artifacts. 1055 00:49:04,366 --> 00:49:06,666 ♪ 1056 00:49:06,700 --> 00:49:08,666 NARRATOR: According to Mark's theory, 1057 00:49:08,700 --> 00:49:11,500 the precious plowshare was left behind 1058 00:49:11,533 --> 00:49:14,733 because the wooden Anglo-Saxon building it was in 1059 00:49:14,766 --> 00:49:17,300 was burned down by the Viking army. 1060 00:49:18,466 --> 00:49:19,700 JARMAN: I think that's, 1061 00:49:19,733 --> 00:49:21,900 that's not quite as crazy as it sounds. 1062 00:49:21,933 --> 00:49:23,166 (both chuckling) 1063 00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:29,466 ♪ 1064 00:49:31,033 --> 00:49:34,166 NARRATOR: The artifacts discovered by detectorist Rob 1065 00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:38,900 already point to a Viking camp at Foremark. 1066 00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:44,233 And now, Cat's team is beginning to unearth evidence 1067 00:49:44,266 --> 00:49:46,400 of the terror the army might have brought 1068 00:49:46,433 --> 00:49:49,033 to the local population. 1069 00:49:49,066 --> 00:49:50,666 JARMAN: If this really is what we think it is, 1070 00:49:50,700 --> 00:49:52,000 then that's hugely exciting, 1071 00:49:52,033 --> 00:49:54,200 because it's actually directly showing evidence 1072 00:49:54,233 --> 00:49:56,200 of those attacks and what that must have been like 1073 00:49:56,233 --> 00:49:58,233 for the people living here at the time. 1074 00:49:58,266 --> 00:50:02,700 ♪ 1075 00:50:02,733 --> 00:50:05,833 NARRATOR: Together, Foremark and Repton now form 1076 00:50:05,866 --> 00:50:08,100 one of the most important Viking sites 1077 00:50:08,133 --> 00:50:10,800 in Britain, 1078 00:50:10,833 --> 00:50:13,366 which Cat's team will continue to explore 1079 00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:15,766 for years to come. 1080 00:50:17,166 --> 00:50:18,433 JARMAN: I'm really pleased. 1081 00:50:18,466 --> 00:50:19,900 We've definitely found the Great Heathen Army. 1082 00:50:19,933 --> 00:50:23,033 It's all in the tiny little bits of evidence. 1083 00:50:23,066 --> 00:50:24,200 It's not the big structures, 1084 00:50:24,233 --> 00:50:25,733 it's not big fortifications and whole ships. 1085 00:50:25,766 --> 00:50:27,700 It's just the small, single items 1086 00:50:27,733 --> 00:50:30,033 that tell us so much of the whole story. 1087 00:50:32,366 --> 00:50:34,633 I actually think we're now just scratching the surface, 1088 00:50:34,666 --> 00:50:38,033 that further investigations of this site 1089 00:50:38,066 --> 00:50:42,400 is, is going to totally change our understanding 1090 00:50:42,433 --> 00:50:45,133 of the early Viking age in England. 1091 00:50:45,166 --> 00:50:47,833 (crackling) 1092 00:50:47,866 --> 00:50:49,933 NARRATOR: According to the "Chronicle," 1093 00:50:49,966 --> 00:50:53,233 after moving on from its winter camp, 1094 00:50:53,266 --> 00:50:56,200 the Great Army began to fragment. 1095 00:50:56,233 --> 00:50:58,333 Meanwhile, 1096 00:50:58,366 --> 00:51:02,433 the Anglo-Saxon tribes rallied together, 1097 00:51:02,466 --> 00:51:04,933 and by the year 878, 1098 00:51:04,966 --> 00:51:08,266 they had finally gained the upper hand. 1099 00:51:09,566 --> 00:51:11,800 The Great Army scattered, 1100 00:51:11,833 --> 00:51:16,900 many of its warriors settling in England. 1101 00:51:16,933 --> 00:51:18,766 ♪ 1102 00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:20,833 Local children were now being born 1103 00:51:20,866 --> 00:51:24,333 with Scandinavian blood. 1104 00:51:24,366 --> 00:51:25,800 And, as at Foremark, 1105 00:51:25,833 --> 00:51:29,866 English places were given Norse names, 1106 00:51:29,900 --> 00:51:31,533 a reminder today 1107 00:51:31,566 --> 00:51:36,700 of a land once occupied by the Vikings. 1108 00:51:36,733 --> 00:51:39,066 It was the relationship between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons 1109 00:51:39,100 --> 00:51:42,033 that led to the formation of England as a single nation. 1110 00:51:42,066 --> 00:51:44,833 ♪ 1111 00:51:44,866 --> 00:51:49,500 The Vikings changed England forever. 1112 00:51:49,533 --> 00:51:51,166 JARMAN: The Vikings made a huge impact, 1113 00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:52,700 not only on this part of Derbyshire, 1114 00:51:52,733 --> 00:51:55,133 but on the whole country. 1115 00:51:55,166 --> 00:51:57,633 This is the real evidence, this is the actual, 1116 00:51:57,666 --> 00:52:00,200 on the ground, the real, hard facts. 1117 00:52:00,233 --> 00:52:03,300 And I'm so, so happy to have been part of that. 1118 00:52:03,333 --> 00:52:08,333 ♪ 1119 00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:13,133 Major funding for "NOVA" is provided by the following: 1120 00:52:39,866 --> 00:52:43,166 To order this "NOVA" program on DVD, 1121 00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:48,133 visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1122 00:52:48,166 --> 00:52:53,166 This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video. 1123 00:52:53,200 --> 00:52:53,133 ♪