Viking burial site revealed

LONDON (Reuters) - Archaeologists say they have excavated an "extremely important" burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding gear.


The site in Cumbria is believed to date back to the 10th century and was discovered at the end of March when an amateur archaeologist found two copper brooches with a metal detector.


The grave of a Viking woman was found underneath and further excavation led to the discovery of the graves of another woman and four men.


Amateur archaeologist Peter Adams on Tuesday described it as "the find of a lifetime" and experts said it would help to understand how the raiders settled in England.


Among items found in the graves outside the village of Cumwhitton were spurs, a bridle a drinking horn, a bracelet and a belt fitting.


"We could not have expected more from the excavation of the site," said Rachel Newman of Oxford Archaeology North.


"We knew the brooches found by Mr Adams came from a burial of a Viking Age woman, which was exciting and of great importance in itself, but we did not expect to find five other graves, complete with such a splendid array of artefacts."


Vikings from what are now Norway and Denmark began raiding Britain from the beginning of the 9th century.

link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040907/80/f22fm.html