Isotope analysis uncovers diverse geographical origins among charnel dead in Repton, suggesting mobility of the Viking Great Army.
In the 1970s and 80s, archaeological excavations around St Wystan’s Church in Repton revealed evidence of the 873 AD Viking Great Army winter camp, along with a number of burials with Scandinavian-type gravegoods. A charnel underneath a low mound in the Vicarage garden contained the disarticulated remains of at least 264 individuals, proposed to have been associated with the Great Army’s presence in Repton. Here, strontium isotope analysis is used on burials from Repton to investigate geographical origins. The results show diverse origins among those buried in the charnel, consistent with locations across north-western Europe.
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Jarman et al. (2019) studied this question.
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