Update Viking Camp at Repton

In November 2017, Dr Cat Jarman reassessed excavations made in the 1970s-1980s in Repton. Her findings aired on the tv show Digging for Britain and confirmed the Biddles’ theory that the Great Heathen Army set up camp at Repton. The Viking Age Archive reported on the story shortly after: Viking Winter Camp at Repton and Repton.

On Easter Sunday 2019, Jarman presented new discoveries on the Channel 4’s Britain’s Viking Graveyard. If you’re in the U.K., you might still have online access to the show. If not, you’ll be happy to know there several blog posts, reviews, podcasts and tweets circulating already.

Jarman’s Twitter thread of 21 April 2019 gives the best synopsis. She reveals two new findings: a DNA match between the Repton Warrior grave and further grave, potentially linking them as a father and son. And a new site at Foremark has been discovered which she and her team excavated in 2018. She confirmed there are signs of both Viking and Anglo-Saxon settlement.

For further excellent reads, see the links below. Also, if you’re in the U.S., please note PBS will air a longer version of Channel 4’s show called The Lost Army on 22 May 2019. Moreover, Jarman’s academic publication on Repton is due by 2020. Something to look forward to!