Graduate Student, Archaeology
Thesis Title: Landscapes of Conflict: The Scandinavian Occupation of England
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Prof. Neil Price
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About
My research project aims to investigate Scandinavian occupation in the area of Eastern England commonly referred to as the ‘Danelaw’. The project will approach the Danelaw as a ‘landscape of conflict’ and will attempt to highlight the military impact of the Viking occupation of this territory following a peace agreement with Alfred of Wessex c.880. The Danelaw presents an exciting though ephemeral case study, with the Anglo-Saxons having re-conquered these lost territories by the mid-tenth century. With there being no known written records from within the Danelaw, our knowledge is confined largely to Anglo-Saxon texts which are inevitably vague. Archaeology therefore has an important place in attempting to fill this gap in our knowledge. Any archaeological evidence that can be analysed within the framework of a multi-disciplinary study could be informative as to how the Vikings consolidated their position within England, as well as providing insights into the Viking mindset and their perceptions of themselves as Scandinavians occupying foreign lands. The study will also focus on the social aspects of conflict and will attempt to investigate possible tensions that would have arisen within the Scandinavian occupied territories.
