When visiting York, you have to be sure you spent some time
at Jorvik Viking Centre. It will took a good part of your day, but you will be
overwhelmed with the experience. Not just the great education centre, but also
an entertainment for the whole family without an exception.
The Jorvik Viking Centre was opened in 1984, after extensive
excavation at Coppergate, to show that Viking society wasn't just violence and
warfare but one of trade, commerce and crafts. It is built on the very same
site of archaeological research. That was possible thanks to unusual oxygen-free
conditions in the soil that helped preserve many materials that normally rot
away to dust. These conditions meant that minute details of everyday life in
Viking times could be recreated to allow you to experience life in a busy
street in York (Jorvik) on 25th October 975 AD. The buildings and objects you
see were all found here and are reconstructed at the level of the Viking-Age
ground surface.
To put Jorvik on timetable of the history we must know that
the period referred as the Viking Age dates from c. AD 800 to 1050. Before this
England was ruled by the Anglo-Saxons. After Viking invasion, England was the
scene of a series of power struggles between Viking and Anglo-Saxon kings until
1066, when England was invaded by the Normans led by William , Duke of
Normandy.
The homelands of the Vikings were in Scandinavia, but the
countries of Scandinavia as we know them today did not exist until the end of
the Viking Age. Wherever they lived, the Viking-Age Scandinavians shared common
features such as house forms, jewellery, tools and other everyday equipment.
These objects and structures are sufficiently uniform to warrant labelling the
period by a single name - the Age of the Vikings.
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| Historic timeline |
You have a questions about the Vikings or you want to know
more about their life? Do you want to know if they really discovered America?
Or did the Vikings have horns on their helmets? Or hear some of Viking's funny
nicknames? Than the Jorvik is right place to visit.
The new Jorvik Viking Centre was opened in 2001, on the
place of the old one and after 16 years of research and collecting artefacts
and information about what Vikings ate, wore, how they traded and where they
lived. Almost of one decade of additional discoveries led to opening fully
re-developed Jorvik in 2010. Every single aspect of the reconstruction is based
on archaeological evidence - nothing is made up. Even eight tonnes of soil were
sieved from Coppergate. Today we can see original glass beads in their full
beauty, Viking shoes, keys, knifes, buckles, antler combs, broaches and many more.
The buildings you see in the Viking city were on this site in their exact
position and are reconstructed at the level of the Viking-Age city.  |
| copyright: York Archaeological Trust |
As you enter the Centre, your first stop will be the
archaeological site of Coppergate. You will be able to walk glass floor and
exam the site in full details. Under your feet you will see reconstructed
excavation exposing timber-framed and wattle houses, discarded objects and
bones. Audio-visual presentation explain where the Viking came from, how they
travelled, why they settled and lived here. The Viking hosts will also help you
to learn more.
Next comes the ride, for many visitors the most exciting
part of the journey to the past. Now you will use all your senses to fully
enjoy the experience. You will meet Jorvik people and see loads of artefacts in
a real surroundings. Firstly, you will come to the riverside where people
fishing and prepare the fish. You will hear their conversation and smell the
fish.
Next stop is farmyard where you'll see an antler worker.
Your nose will smell farmyard and burning logs. A bit further is an amber
worker's house and the blacksmith. The smell of molten iron comes through slowly.
The wood turner's home is next to the blacksmith, after that you can meet two
workers at the new house building site. As the Viking world unfold in front of
you, you will meet a foreign traders and, soon after, a gossiping lady. The
roasting boar smells lovely. So far you will be completely into this old-new
world of Vikings.
The beautiful and realistic figures make this world so live.
The reconstructed residents of Jorvik are made using modern technology scanning
sculls found on the site and sculptors craftmanship. As the ride continues, you
will pass the naughty boy and arguing couple and be witness to the dog's fight.
The last stop is Viking toilet. With an accompanied smell sensations you'll
meet a man who will be pretty upset because of the lack of privacy.
After the ride, there is the chance to check if you are the
Viking in the room with interactive displays. Then you'll see the Viking ghosts
- the actors that reconstruct the characters: Grummi the blacksmith, Driffa the
housewife, Mord the leather worker and Uni the wood turner. Look out for them
in the main cases and let them enlighten you about life in Jorvik over 1,000
years ago.
Last part of the Centre to visit is an artefact room. On
this exhibition you will see lots of objects made of wood, metal, antler or
leather, goods that were came from distant lands with the trade, as well as you
can mint your own coin.
As you exit Jorvik Viking Centre you will enter the shop
which sells unique and exclusive souvenirs of your visit - glass beads, runic
pendants from Norway, replicas of armour for children, boats and longships, mugs,
books, DVDs and many more.
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