A major two-and-a-half-year archaeological excavation, right in the heart of the Viking kingdom of York, began on 3 June 1976 and has already made some remarkable discoveries. The site, in Coppergate, lies outside the Roman legionary fortress, but at the heart of the Viking settlement, and 1,500 square metres (16,146 square feet) are available for excavation, of which about 600 sq. m (6460 sq. ft) are being excavated.

The excavation began with the investigation of three stone buildings of the 13th-16th centuries, two of which were excavated by the York Archaeological Trust and the third – the best preserved of the three – by the York Excavation Group, the city's independent excavation society. All seem to be of mercantile origin.

Below the two buildings, which have been lifted, a complex series of buildings from the 13th and early 14th centuries were discovered. These had a largely timber superstructure, and only the stone foundations and a few posts and piles survived. From the tiled hearths associated with these buildings, it is surmised that baking took place in at least one of them, and there was also evidence of metal working. Associated small finds include a magnificent 13th-century gold ring with a pearl and subsidiary amethyst setting.

Viking timber construction

On reaching Viking levels, a group of three Viking Age timber buildings of identical oak construction was discovered, their timbers generally in good condition apart from some traces of Viking Age woodworm. These are situated near the street frontage, and appear to be semi-basements, which are cut into the surrounding deposits to depths of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). The timber walls survive to a height of up to 2 m (6.6 ft), revealing more about Viking Age timber construction than has ever been known before. The walls consist of massive planks and split logs resting edge upon edge, and held in place by internal uprights. The uprights rest on long, horizontal sill-beams, which have a raised inner lip.

In one of the buildings, a wall collapsed horizontally shortly after the area fell into disuse, with the result that more of this wall has been preserved. From it we can see that there were peg-holes and half-lap joints in at least some of the uprights. Some wooden shingles have survived from the original roof of the building, and with such details so clearly in evidence, it may well be possible to reconstruct the buildings for eventual display to the public. The walls are currently being lifted, and an attempt will be made to preserve them for posterity. Large shallow tanks used for water storage at the disused Clifton Aerodrome will be used to protect the timbers as an interim measure.

Dating

The buildings went into a period of decay at about the middle of the 11th century. It may soon be possible to date their construction more precisely through dendrochronology, but for the present, the buildings have to be dated by the objects found in them. The indications are that they are from the 10th-11th century, a coin of Aethelred II (‘the Unready') having come from one of the floor levels. When William the Conqueror's castle was built, one of the seven city shires was devastated to make way for its construction, and this may well be the reason for the decline of the buildings.

Although sufficient has not been excavated for us to be quite clear what the buildings looked like, their precise use still remains a mystery. It is clear, however, that there was a woodworker's workshop in the near vicinity at the time the buildings fell into disuse. Coppergate means ‘street of the coopers' (barrel makers). The buildings were used to deposit wood shavings, and among the shavings, numerous pieces of wood that look like bungs for barrels have been found. In fact, they are the lathe-turnings from the wooden bowls which were being manufactured in the area.

A wealth of Viking-type finds have come to light, including a complete pottery lamp out of one of the 11th-century buildings, along with numerous coloured glass and amber beads, bone skates, antler combs, dress-pins and fragments of wooden bowls. However the year's finest find, a superb ornamented leather scramaseax sheath, for a large knife, probably from the height of York's Viking period of the 10th century, came from a salvage excavation for a main new sewer in Parliament Street a few yards away.

The Viking city

Coppergate lies at the very heart of the Viking Age city of Jorvik, which during the period 876-1068/9 was one of the most important trading centres in Europe.

In 867, a Viking army – which had been terrorising the country continually for two years – captured York, and in 876, when a part of this army decided to settle down as farmers, they made York their capital. As many as 12 independent kings, of both Danish and Norwegian descent, ruled here on and off until 954, when the last – the exiled Norwegian prince, Eric Bloodaxe – was expelled by the English king Eadred, who instituted a series of earls who governed the area until the Norman Conquest.

In Viking Jorvik, there was a really constructive side to the settlement which is far removed from the usual reputation that the Vikings have for being invaders, robbers and heathens. For example, the existing coinage was taken over and extended in use, quality and quantity. Trade, with Dublin, Scandinavia, the continent and beyond, was developed, encouraged by the establishment of a merchant population. The Danish Vikings in York also adopted Christianity and worked with the Church to a far greater extent than did their Hiberno-Norse equivalents in Dublin.

Apart from the churches, no buildings of the Viking town survive, but in the last 70 years, a large number of chance finds made by building works have shown that the Pavement-High Ousegate-Coppergate area contains a wealth of buried evidence of Jorvik. The Coppergate site, which has kindly been made available by the York District Council for a minimum period of two years, thus presents a marvellous opportunity to uncover a large area in the heart of Viking York, which was, with Dublin, one of the only two lasting Viking kingdoms in the British Isles.

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