Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about the Vikings, so you'll be able to recall anything you already know about the Vikings.

And we are going to explore the question how do we know so much about Viking York? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain why we know so much about Viking York by describing some of the archaeological finds from Coppergate.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keyword key.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are excavation, artefact, trade.

I'm going to say those again and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Excavation, artefact, trade.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are definitions for each of our keywords.

Excavation is the process of removing earth carefully from an area to find buried remains.

An artefact is an object made by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest.

Trade is the action of buying and selling goods and services.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we will be working through together in today's lesson.

The artefacts of the Coppergate excavation, how do the artefacts tell us about Viking York? In the first learning cycle, we will explore the artefacts of the Coppergate excavation.

The surprising artefacts discovered at Coppergate in York changed what we know about the Vikings.

Until the 1970s, the only archaeological finds from the Viking period were items dug up by chance.

You can see in this photo here of the Coppergate excavation site.

Can you see all the archaeologists working and the public having a look from the viewing platform up there? Now, in 1972, this changed.

Archaeologists unearthed fascinating evidence at the Coppergate Excavation in York.

They found nine metres of archaeological layers and moist and peaty soil.

This special type of soil is very good at preserving the organic remains of things which normally rot away.

So as a result, between 1976 and 1981, York Archaeological Trust identified and recorded around 40,000 finds, many of which had been amazingly preserved.

These finds mostly dated back to the Viking Age.

The artefacts that the archaeologists found provided new evidence about Viking life in York.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What was so impressive about many of the artefacts discovered at the Coppergate excavation? They had completely rotted away as they were organic remains.

They were well preserved even though they were organic remains.

Only a few of the organic remains were well preserved.

Have a quick discussion with your partner.

Pause the video here, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

What did you think? If you said they were well preserved even though they were organic remains, you're absolutely right, well done.

The artefacts found at Coppergate were important because they provided new evidence about how the Vikings lived.

The artefacts uncovered included woven wattles, Roman tiles and wooden posts, iron knives and tools, wooden cups and bowls, leather and combs, amber, carnelian, silk and cowrie shells, wooden board games, ice skates and coin dies.

So lots of different artefacts and materials were uncovered.

Archaeologists carefully studied the artefacts from Coppergate for a long time to learn about how the Vikings lived in York.

I think that new discoveries can still change what archaeologists know about people from a specific time and place.

I think Jacob is right there.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Describe why the artefacts found at the Coppergate excavation were very important for archaeologists finding out about Viking York.

What do you think? Pause the video here.

Have a discussion with your partner and describe why those artefacts found at Coppergate were important for archaeologists finding out about Viking York, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, your answer may have included, the artefacts found at the Coppergate excavation were important to archaeologists because they revealed new evidence about how the Vikings lived in York.

Well done if you were able to describe why those artefacts found at Coppergate were important for archaeologists finding out about Viking York.

This brings us to our first learning task.

Aisha says, "The artefacts from Coppergate have told archaeologists all they need to know about how the Vikings lived in York." Based on what you've learned about artefacts discovered, is this statement accurate? Explain your answer.

So you can start by saying the statement is or is not accurate because.

So pause the video here.

Give yourself enough time to decide whether this statement is accurate and explain your answer and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Shall we take a look at an example? So the statement is not accurate because the artefacts discovered revealed a lot about Viking York, but new discoveries can still change what archaeologists know.

Even today, there could be a discovery that changes what archaeologists know about Viking York, which is quite exciting, isn't it? We're now ready to move on to the second part of this lesson.

We're going to explore how the artefacts tell us about Viking York.

Historians are able to build a picture of the past using what they've learned from artefacts.

Thousands of artefacts were found at Coppergate, which historians can learn from, and the artefacts are evidence of how the Vikings lived.

The artefacts provide evidence of many aspects of the lives of Vikings in York: where they lived, what activities they were involved in, what they believed in, and where they traded.

It's amazing really what archaeologists can learn from these artefacts.

Artefacts discovered at Coppergate have told archaeologists what Viking York may have looked like and what Viking houses were like.

For example, four house plots were excavated and they revealed that early Viking buildings were built across one floor and that they were made of wooden posts, woven wattles, thatched roofs and earth floors.

Each building had a very large central fire with reused Roman tiles around the edges.

This suggests that the Vikings recycled building materials that they found nearby.

Excavations also uncovered that later Viking buildings included a cellar likely used for storage.

So they created another layer going underground into that cellar space for storage.

Excavations also showed how tightly packed the rows of Viking houses were along the area of Coppergate.

It is probable that the space between the houses was filled with animal pens and a cesspit.

A cesspit is a hole outside dug for toilet waste.

So Viking York would've been a dirty and bad smelling place to live.

Let's take a moment to pause here.

What did the early buildings not have? A thatched roof, woven wattle walls, a cellar.

What do you think? Pause the video here, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

What did you think? If you said a cellar, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

The Coppergate excavation also provided archaeologists with artefacts that tell them about how York Vikings worked.

For example, many of the houses had workshops joined to them where the Vikings would have made different crafts.

Evidence of entire processes of making things and making those different crafts was also found in these workshops.

Iron objects like knives and tools suggest that there was a blacksmith's workshop in Viking York, whilst wooden items, such as cups and bowls suggest that there was also a wood turner's workshop.

Both of these workshops show that the Vikings were skilled craftspeople and not just fearsome warriors like many people think.

Excavations at Coppergate also revealed how the Vikings like to spend their leisure time.

For example, archaeologists found a pair of ice skates, which they believe the Vikings used for both fun and transportation in winter.

The ice skates reveal even more about Viking life to archaeologists as they were not like modern ice skates.

Instead of having a metal blade to glide across the ice, it is thought that Viking skaters pushed themselves across the ice with sticks as the skates were made from animal bone.

Another leisure item that was discovered was a wooden gaming board with walrus ivory pieces.

This artefact reveals two things.

One, that it was likely brought over from Scandinavia as walrus ivory is not found in Britain, and two, that the Vikings like to play games in their spare time.

You can see in the images there photos of ice skates and photo of a board game, both of which are similar to those found at the Coppergate excavation.

But they're not the exact artefacts.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Explain how you know Laura is correct using what you've learned about the artefacts found.

So Laura says, "The Vikings were skilled craftspeople." Include one example of an artefact that proves this.

So pause the video here.

Give yourself enough time and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, your answer could include, "Laura is correct.

The artefacts found at Coppergate are evidence that the Vikings was skilled craftspeople.

For example, iron knives showed they were skilled blacksmiths." Good job if you're able to answer what kind of artefacts were created by these craftspeople.

You might have included the wood turner instead of the blacksmith.

Artefacts unearthed at the Coppergate excavation also reveal what religion was like in Viking York.

For example, a coin die was found, which had an unusual design on it.

It had a Latin phrase, meaning St.

Peter, who was a Christian saint, and an image of a sword and hammer thought to be the hammer of Thor, the Viking god of thunder.

This coin die's design suggests that the Vikings in York believed in both Christianity and pagan gods.

So you can see a photo there of a coin die that's similar to the one found at Coppergate, but not the exact one.

Can you see the design at the bottom? That's where that Latin phrase for St.

Peter and the sword and hammer would've been.

Many artefacts found at Coppergate were evidence that Viking York was a major hub for trade.

For example, when amber was discovered, it showed that the Vikings traded with Scandinavia and the Baltic region as this is where most amber was naturally found at the time.

Similarly, 23 fragments of silk were discovered, as well as cowrie shells, both of which would've arrived in Viking York from the Middle East, again suggesting that the Vikings traded across the globe.

From which artefact did archaeologists learn that Vikings in York believed in both Christianity and pagan gods? The coin die, amber or the wooden board game? What do you think? Have a discussion with your partner.

Pause the video here and when you're ready to continue, press play.

Did you work it out? It's the coin die.

Well done if you got that right.

Now, from which artefact did archaeologists learn that Vikings traded across the world? The coin die, amber or the wooden board game? What do you think? Pause the video here, and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

Did you get it? It was indeed amber.

Well done if you got that right.

And then from which artefact did archaeologists learn what Vikings did in their leisure time? The coin die, amber or the wooden board game? Which one? Vikings, what they did in their leisure time.

If you said the wooden board game, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

Write one paragraph to explain how we know so much about Viking York.

Include examples of artefacts discovered at the Coppergate excavation and what we have learned from them.

You may wish to include these words in your answer: archaeologists, excavation, artefacts, trade.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time.

Make sure you have a pen and some paper to write one paragraph to explain how we know so much about Viking York.

And press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer could have included, "The Coppergate excavation unearthed 40,000 Viking artefacts for archaeologists to study and learn about what life was like in Viking York.

For example, archaeologists were able to learn that the Vikings were craftspeople, not just warriors, from the iron tools they discovered in workshops attached to Viking houses.

Additionally, artefacts discovered, like amber and silk, provided evidence of Viking trade across the world.

The discovery of a design on a coin die also suggested that the York Vikings believed in both Christianity and Pagan gods." Well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about how we know so much about Viking York.

Many artefacts have been found in the Coppergate area that date from the time the Vikings lived there.

These artefacts tell us a lot about the buildings that were there and the activities that took place.

The artefacts found are evidence that Viking York was a major hub for trade where goods came to and from all over Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Because there were many artefacts from the Coppergate excavation for archaeologists to learn from, we now know more about the daily lives of the Vikings who lived in York.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson, and I hope you enjoyed learning about how we know so much about Viking York.