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 some of the things archaeologists have learned from key artefacts found in Viking York.

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

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

The key words we'll be using today are artefact coin die, Thor.

I'm gonna say those again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Artefact coin die, Thor.

Good job.

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

Let's take a look at the definitions for each of our keywords.

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

A coin die is a metal stamp used to imprint a design on a coin.

Thor was the Viking god of thunder.

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

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

What key artefacts were found at Coppergate and learnings from the key artefacts.

In the first learning cycle, we will explore the key artefacts found at Coppergate.

Archaeologists at the Coppergate excavation were fascinated by the amount of artefacts they were unearthing.

The excavation unearthed 40,000 different finds.

Goodness, take a look at that photo of archaeologists excavating at Coppergate.

I wonder what it would've felt like to unearth around 40,000 different finds.

I wonder how long it took them.

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

How many archaeological finds were unearthed at Coppergate? 4,000, 14,000, or 40,000.

What do you think? Pause the video here, and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

What did you think? If you said 40,000, well done.

That's absolutely right.

Now many key artefacts found at Coppergate provided archaeologists with new information about the Vikings in York and what their life was like.

So I wonder what did the archaeologists find at Coppergate? Well, a huge variety of artefacts were discovered by the archaeologists at Coppergate.

Some are items we still use today.

For example, they found a barrel padlock and key made from iron.

Other iron keys of different shapes and sizes were also found with the padlock.

I'll take a look at this photo of a Viking age padlock and key.

It's similar to the one found at the Coppergate excavation, but it's not the exact same one.

But looking at this photo, we can get an idea of what it would look like.

Similarly, the archaeologists also discovered 42 pairs of ice skates.

However, these were different to modern day ice skates as these were made from the leg bones of either horse or cattle.

The Vikings preferred to use horse bones because it was stronger.

To make the Viking ice skates, the animal bones were cut flat, polished on one side, and then drilled with a hole at one end.

The finished bones were then tied to the bottom of the shoes using a thin piece of leather.

Although the artefacts were a surprising find at Coppergate ice skates made from bone are actually common archaeological finds from the Viking period.

Take a look at that photo of the ice skates there.

Those are the ones that are similar to those found at the Coppergate excavation, but they're not the exact ones.

Another familiar item found by archaeologists was a board game.

However, the board was made from wood and pieces from walrus ivory.

This suggests that it may have been brought over from Scandinavia as walrus were found there at the time, but not in Britain.

You can see a photo here of a board game similar to that found at the Coppergate excavation.

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

Which artefact was made using horse or cattle bones.

Was it ice skates, a padlock and key, or a board game? What do you think? Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to continue.

What do you think? If you said ice skates, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

An item found at Coppergate, which in modern times we are less familiar with, was a coin die.

These are usually long cylinder shaped pieces of metal that are used to stamp images onto blank metal discs.

coin dies were used in pairs and the blank metal disc would be placed between them.

So take a look at that photo there of a coin die similar to that found at the Coppergate excavation.

Can you see the design on the bottom and how it's a cylindrical shape? So imagine a cylinder coin die on top and a coin die at the bottom with a metal disc sitting in between.

Now, the upper dye would be hammered with plenty of force to create a stamp on each side of the coin.

So the two cylinders, the one at the top and the bottom, they would press together to imprint a design onto the metal disc in the middle.

Take a look at that Viking coin there made using a coin die.

Can you see the design, how it's printed on to that metal disc? Today we have special machines that create coins very quickly.

I can't imagine making each coin by hand.

Can you? What would your coin die design be like if you were making coins? Hmm.

It's an interesting thought, isn't it? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which artefact was made of metal, ice skates, coin die, or board game? What do you think? Have a quick discussion with your partner.

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

If you said coin die, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

That brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to create an exhibition display for a museum about the key artefacts found at Coppergate.

Draw each artefact and write a label describing what it is and what it's made from.

So pause a video here and give yourself enough time to create your exhibition display for a museum.

Draw each artefact and label it describing what it is and what it's made for.

And when you are ready to continue, press play.

How did you get on? Did you create an exhibition display? Let's take a look at what we would want to see within your display.

It could have included the ice skates made from leather and bone, the iron padlock and key, the metal coin die, which was used to create coins and the wooden board game with walrus ivory pieces.

Well done if you were able to draw different artefacts and describe them.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of this lesson.

We're gonna explore the learnings that the archaeologists had from the key artefacts.

Archaeologists carefully studied the key artefacts from Coppergate for a long time.

The artefacts helped them understand lots of things about life in Viking York that they had not known about before.

They wanted to learn as much as possible about the lives of the Vikings in York.

Aisha is asking, do you think archaeologists ever stop learning new things about Viking life? Well, Jacob is able to respond.

He thinks no new discoveries could be made today.

That may change what archaeologists have already learned about the Vikings.

And he's absolutely right.

Wouldn't it be amazing to know that there could be more discoveries to help us find out even more about Vikings in York? Sam has a statement.

Explain why she is correct.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

Sam has made a statement.

Explain why she is incorrect using what you have learned.

Sam says, when archaeologists find an artefact they can straight away learn everything about the people from the past.

Hmm.

What do you think? Have a discussion with your partner.

Why is she incorrect? Use what you've learned to explain why.

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

Shall we take a look at an example? So you might have discussed that Sam is incorrect because archaeologists have to carefully study an artefact for a long time to learn how people lived in specific times and places.

Now, what do you think archaeologists learn about the Vikings from these artefacts? So we have the ice skates, the padlock and key, the board game and the coin die.

We know that these artefacts are now, but what did the archaeologists learn about the Vikings from these artefacts? Well, the padlock and key found at Coppergate suggest to archaeologists that the owner of this artefact was rich as they would've wanted to keep their valuables safe from potential theft.

The padlock and key also suggested that their owner had a high social status as they were in charge of household locks, which would've been seen as an important job.

The ice skates discovered in Viking York taught archaeologists that the Vikings used this artefact for transportation and leisure in the winter months.

However, the ice skates were not used like modern ice skates as there is no blade to cook through the ice and the bone would've sat flat on the ice.

Instead, it's suggested that the Viking age skaters pushed themselves across the ice with sticks rather than gliding across the ice like modern metal skates.

Like the ice skates, the wooden board game tells archaeologists that the Vikings enjoyed their leisure time and liked playing games.

A popular game the Vikings played was called tafl, which means table or board in Old Norse.

Tafl games are played on a chequered board with two armies of uneven players.

Like the ice skates, the wooden board game tells archaeologists that the Vikings enjoyed their leisure time and liked playing games.

A popular game the Vikings played was called tafl which means table or board in Old Norse.

Tafl games are played on a chequered board with two armies of uneven numbers.

It's a bit like chess without an equal amount of pieces for each player.

One coin die discovered at Coppergate had a design on it, which said (speaking in Latin).

This is Latin for St.

Peter.

St.

Peter was a Christian saint and the patron saint of York Minster.

The coin die also shows a sword and hammer in its design.

This is thought to be the hammer of Thor, who was the Viking god of thunder.

The design of the coin die suggests to archaeologists that the Vikings in York believed in both Christianity and pagan gods at this time, and that they followed a mixed religion.

Let's take a moment to pause.

Can you discuss these questions with your partner? What does the board game discovered at Coppergate tell us about the Vikings? And what did archaeologists learn from the design of the coin eye found at Coppergate? Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a discussion with your partner about these questions and restart when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? Shall we take a look at some answers? So what does the board game discovered at Coppergate tell us about the Vikings? Well, the board game tells us that the Vikings enjoyed playing games.

And what did archaeologists learn? From the design of the coin eye found at Coppergate? archaeologists learned that the Vikings believed in both pagan gods like Thor and Christianity from the design of the coin die.

This brings us onto our final learning task.

I'd like you to write one paragraph explaining what archaeologists have learned from the key artefacts found at Coppergate.

So we have the board game, the ice skates, coin die, and the padlock and key.

So pause the video here.

Give yourself enough time.

Make sure you have a pen and some paper to write one paragraph explaining what archaeologists have learned from the key artefacts found at Coppergate and restart the video when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example.

So your answer could include archaeologists have learned many things from the artefacts found at Coppergate.

They learned that the Vikings enjoyed board games like tafl and that they used ice skates for transportation and leisure.

Additionally, the design of the coin die taught archaeologists that the Vikings believed in both Christianity and pagan gods like Thor.

Finally, the padlock key uncovered suggests that some Vikings were rich and wanted to protect their belongings and that the owner had a high social status as they were in charge of household locks.

Well done if you are able to write something similar and well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about the artefacts of Viking York.

We've certainly learned a lot during the Coppergate excavation, archaeologists found a metal padlock and key, which suggests that the owner was rich and controlled access to the home and valuables that were locked away.

They also found 42 pairs of ice skates made from the leg bones of horse or cattle.

The ice skates were used by the Vikings for transportation and leisure.

A wooden gaming board with walrus ivory pieces was also found and tells archaeologists that the Vikings like to play board games.

A discovered coin die with a design about both St.

Peter and Thor shows that the Vikings in New York had Christian and pagan beliefs.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.

See you then.