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 Biddlesâ 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 Britainâs 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 youâre in the U.S., please note PBS will air a longer version of Channel 4âs show called The Lost Army on 22 May 2019. Moreover, Jarmanâs academic publication on Repton is due by 2020. Something to look forward to!
Further Reading, Watching, and Listening
Archaeodeath (blog) – Britianâs Viking Graveyard.
Blue Axe Productions (blog) – Behind the Scenes.
Dan Snowâs History Hit (podcast) – âViking Graveyard with Dr Catrine Jarmanâ.
Norse and Viking Ramblings (blog) – Review of the show.
PBS (tv) – Lost Viking Army.
Would you please identify the Y-DNA found at Rapton as to Haplogroup, I1, or I2a2 (I-M233) or I2a1
Dear William
Thanks for your question! As I’m not a scholar, I’m not qualified to answer this technical question. But I have looked around to see if there are any academic articles to back up the DNA-information at Repton. I noticed that Dr Jarman does refer to a wider, ongoing study. Those results will undoubtedly be published in an academic publication in due time. In the meantime, here is a podcast with Dan Snow in which he and Dr Jarman discuss the topic: https://www.historyhit.com/discovering-the-secrets-of-reptons-viking-remains/. And I continuously update this article when more information becomes available!
– Ingrid