My Instagram message request folder is a place I approach with caution and suspicion. Social media connects us and brings us together, but it also attracts bots and an alarming number of beautiful women in my area (and weird men sending me anatomical photographs.)

This week, however, was different. The Yorkshire Museum contacted me to kindly invite me to the press preview of their new exhibition, Viking North. Two days before it opened to the general public on Friday 11th of July!

I couldn’t quite believe my luck: I grew up in York and frequently visited the museum as a little girl to pore over the fossils and their fantastic collection of archaeological finds. The idea that I could be inches away from Neolithic arrowheads or a Roman oil lamp that was made, touched, held and discarded by York citizens of the past blew my little child mind. Museums are magic to me and despite having visited MANY, I will always have a special fondness for the ones in my hometown.

Viking North is the culmination of years of work by a multidisciplinary team and replaces the previous Medieval gallery in the museum’s basement. I was greeted by Andrew Woods, senior curator of the Museum, who gave us an introduction to the exhibition and the ideas behind it. With the Bedale Hoard as an example, he described the flow of wealth in the Viking Age, how silver migrated along with people from across Europe and even from the Islamic world. This is a topic that has been discussed extensively in work by Dr Jane Kershaw, one of the exhibition’s advisory panel: she was joined by Dr Steve Ashby, Prof Dawn Hadley and Prof Matthew Townend. 

If you are familiar with Viking Age studies, you will recognise this team as a band of absolute academic juggernauts! Their guidance and the curatorial team’s love for the period has resulted in a well-rounded presentation, with a good balance of text for us nerds and spacious display to really let the artefacts sing.

So, what exactly can you see in Viking North?

• Hoards, glorious hoards! The Bolton Percy Hoard, Bedale Hoard and the Vale of York Hoard are on display, along with many other shiny treasures of hacksilver, coins and jewellery from across the Danelaw.

• Items found at the Great Army camp at Aldwark. These are remarkable and a little distinct from items found in Jorvík, as the camps were not permanent domestic spaces. As such, they’ve remained elusive and have their own signature items that are commonly found there (think lead gaming pieces, hackmetal, Insular and Anglian jewellery that may be repurposed.) It was great for me personally to see this collection, as my friend Trix Randerson has written extensively on the camp at Aldwark and gave multiple talks on aspects of these objects at my living history conference, VALHAll:A!) You can watch one of his talks (for free) on the use of dress accessories by folks in the Great Army here.

• Many items from Viking York that have not been exhibited before, at least not in my lifetime! Most excitingly for me, there were quite a few bits from Hungate. I’ve been working on a speculative Hungate impression for a year now and seeing some of these items “in person” was touching, when I’ve spent so long looking at line drawings in ancient grey lit.

• Beautiful Anglo-Scandinavian stonework, some pieces borrowed from churches and some already in the museum’s collection. The Sigurd stone is a favourite of mine!
  
• The famous York cap is now rehoused in a much better, more spacious cabinet, worthy of its majesty. This is good, as it’s one of the only textile elements of the collection on display.

• One of the stunning bone-topped caskets/boxes found in York. Remains of two such box lids have been found in York and they seem to have been a popular item in Viking Age towns, with similar examples being found in Dublin and Waterford just to name a few.

• An honorary special mention: I asked YMT’s Curator of Archaeology Dr Adam Parker for his favourite artefact on display. Without hesitation, he showed me this STUNNING mjolnir pendant found in 2018 in Newton-le-Willows: 

Made from silver with a gold inlay, it is simple but elegant in design. Even more excitingly, it is totally unparalleled: no pendants exactly like it have been found anywhere. Dr Parker explained its significance: Thors hammer pendants gained popularity in Scandinavia after the Christian community there showed their faith with cross pendants. Scandinavian examples are often extremely ornate, while Anglo-Scandinavian mjolnirs are generally plain silver. With a simple shape but precious gold inlay on its surface, the new Newton-le-Willows example straddles these two styles.

The original owner wanted those he encountered to know who he was, what he believed in and his high social standing. Objects like this are so special for this reason: they transport us back in time and give us a fleeting view of a stranger, separated by 10 centuries. The pendant was acquired by the Museum barely a month ago and it has never been exhibited before publicly, so it was a particular honour to see it up close!

There’s so much more to see and I spent an extremely happy hour or two marvelling at it all and exploring the more interactive elements of the exhibition. They’ve added a digital installation of a “raven’s eye view” of the camp at Aldwark, something I loved zooming in on and watching folks going about their daily business. You can also learn to spell your name in Younger Futhark (my MA by Research in Linguistics did not diminish my urge to play with the runes, though my sense of professionalism restrained me from writing something crude.)

I was the only living historian present at the preview, but I was informed that this summer, a team of dedicated costumed interpreters from History Riot will bring the gallery to life for visitors. (You’ll have to check The Yorkshire Museum’s social media/contact them for specific dates to see them, to avoid disappointment!) 

Entry to Viking North is included in your ticket price and will be on display for two years. It’s suitable for all ages and attention spans. There’s plenty to see and do, whether you’re a little one who wants to learn about Viking life or a big nerdy one like me, who wants to take my time reading about Viking life. 

A huge thank you again to The Yorkshire Museum for inviting me to see this fantastic new exhibition, it’s a memory I’ll cherish for a long time! 

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The Yorkshire Museum’s webpage for Viking North: https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/exhibition/viking-north/

A fab video about the exhibition by fellow attendee Andrew “Auld Boy” on Youtube, featuring interviews with the curators: https://youtu.be/DNkIDjPsNy4?si=BVBjBjJjzF27HjoX

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