Viking Weapon-Recycling Site Found in England?

Source: National Geographic News
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News


Today's recyclers can now conceivably lay claim to a rich, bloody, brawny heritage, if a new Viking discovery is any indication.

The famed Norse warriors, many of whom settled parts of eastern and northern England in the Middle Ages, recycled as they fought, new excavations in the United Kingdom suggest.

An 11th-century metalworking site recently discovered in the city of York (map) is likely evidence of a makeshift recycling center, where Vikings took weapons for reprocessing after battle, according to historian Charles Jones, organizer of the Fulford Battlefield Society, which advocates preserving the battle site against potential development.

Jones and his team have found hundreds of pieces of ironwork—including axes, sword parts, and arrowheads—along with lumps of melted-down iron and the remains of smelting pits.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-viking-recycling.html

I've had a fascination with the Vikings since before I first heard the Immigrant song..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svR3iXKTJvc

http://users.wolfcrews.com/toys/vikings/

BTW, I'm interested in Vikings, too. Maybe because I have Scandinavian heritage? Dunno.

Those viking got around.

and a little less time scavenging for scrap they might not have gotten slapped around by Harold a few days later... :)

You can still walk some of the Roman walls and under the the Minister there is a Roman fort. Interesting town