Martin Biddle

Repton and the Vikings

In 873 the Viking Great Army took winter quarters at the Anglo-Saxon monastery of Repton in the heart of Mercia. Excavations 1974–88 found their D-shaped earthwork on the river bank, incorporated in the stone church. Burials of Viking type were made at the east end of the church, and an existing building was cut down and converted into the chamber of a burial mound containing at least 249 individuals. Here is a first account of the evidence for the Vikings at Repton in and after the campaigning season of 873-4.

The Rose reviewed: a comedy(?) of errors

The identification, partial excavation, and covering-up again of the Rose Theatre in London this summer roused public interest unparalleled since the discovery of the Temple of Mithras 35 years ago. How is it that the future of an archaeological site of such importance has still to be resolved under threat in a flurry of direct action, injunctions, and media attention? Martin Biddle was almost the only archaeologist not directly involved who was prepared publicly to explore the issues in the press and on radio and television. Here he sets out his views of the lessons of the Rose.

The Repton Stone

In August 1979 a large sculptured stone was discovered, broken and upside down in a pit immediately outside the eastern window of the Anglo-Saxon crypt of the church of St Wystan at Repton in Derbyshire (pl. V). The scenes depicted on the two surviving faces of the stone are without direct parallel in Anglo-Saxon sculpture and have so far eluded definitive interpretation. The purpose of the present article is to place on record a detailed description of the stone, and some preliminary thoughts on its date and possible significance, in the hope that wider discussion may lead to a more satisfactory understanding of what must be, on any judgement, one of the more important surviving examples of pre-Conquest sculpture.

Archaeology and the History of British Towns

Urban archaeology in Britain is still in its infancy, conditioned on the one hand by a concentration on the Roman period to the detriment of later centuries, on the other by a lack of close co-operation between historians and archaeologists. Only since the last war has archaeology begun to be accepted in Britain as an important source of evidence for the history of towns. This growth of interest in urban archaeology is partly due to the example set by European scholars working in the same field. Many of our important towns were founded during the Roman occupation and this has given to their archaeology a character wholly different from that typical of the towns of northern Europe. The needs of Romano-British archaeology have dominated the excavation of towns, partly because classical studies have been fundamental to British education, and partly because medieval historians have not regarded archaeology as relevant to their interests.

The Viking Great Army in England: new dates from the Repton charnel

Abstract Archaeological evidence for the Viking Great Army that invaded England in AD 865 is focused particularly on the area around St Wystans church at Repton in Derbyshire. Large numbers of burials excavated here in the 1980s have been attributed to the overwintering of the Great Army in AD 873–874. Many of the remains were deposited in a charnel, while others were buried in graves with Scandinavian-style grave goods. Although numismatic evidence corroborated the belief that these were the remains of the Great Army, radiocarbon results have tended to disagree. Recent re-dating of the remains, applying the appropriate marine reservoir correction, has clarified the relationship between the interments, and has resolved the previous uncertainty.

Bibliography for 1982

This bibliography is meant to include all books, articles and significant reviews published in any branch of Anglo-Saxon studies during 1982. It excludes reprints unless they contain new material. It will be continued annually. The year of publication of a book or article is 1982 unless otherwise stated.

Bibliography for 1980

This bibliography is meant to include all books, articles and significant reviews published in any branch of Anglo-Saxon studies during 1980. It excludes reprints unless they contain new material. It will be continued annually. The year of publication of a book or article is 1980 unless otherwise stated. There is a separate section for onomastic studies for the first time. The arrangement and the pages on which the sections begin are as follows: