Viking Assembly Sites and Things

 I have been asked to start producing a reading list for the project. The three sites listed below are other sites operated by me and my research organisation Public Information Research Organisation (PIRO) and contain links to radio programs, academic papers, books and video links. Where you see a document with the word 'Expand' over it - click on it - and it should open up in a larger format - this format can be enlarged even further in your web browser.

If you have any problems with the documents please use the comment box beneath this blog and I will try answer the queries and questions.

Stuart

http://thingsviking.blogspot.com/

http://vikinglandscape.com/

http://thingsites.blogspot.com/

I also have background history of Sherwood Forest on http://sherwoodforest.info

Aspects of the Development of Public Assembly in the Danelaw

The aim of this essay by Sam Turner is to investigate aspects of the development of public assembly in the Danelaw area of early medieval England using topographic, place-name and archaeological evidence for hundred and wapentake meeting-places. The article considers aspects of the Anglo-Saxon tradition of public assembly, and assesses the probable origins of the system. It then compares the system of meeting-places in the Danelaw with moot-sites in other areas of Anglo-Saxon England. The article attempts to outline topics such as the different functions of meeting-places and the changing rationale behind meeting-place locations. This leads to suggestions about the antiquity of the system of public administration in the Danelaw and the nature of Scandinavian settlement in eastern England.

This is very useful background read to the history and context of Thynghowe.

Open publication - Free publishing - More danelaw

Researching The Past Heritage of Sherwood Forest

Our project focuses on the local heritage of the Forest of Birklands and the Viking age site of Thynghowe which is contained within a 5km by 4km area along the western edge of Sherwood Forest.
Using an original 1816 Warsop Lordship Boundary Perambulation document we have rediscovered a lost local heritage. Included in this document is reference to the ancient custom of assembly on Hanger Hill(Thynghowe) and forms the basis of our intangible cultural heritage research.
The tangible heritage includes a possible Bronze Age burial mound, a Saxon Moot with Viking Assembly(Thynghowe), Forest and parish boundary marker stones, a 13th century chantry, a 19th century water meadows scheme, centuries of woodland management features and World War II archaeology. Researching the written archives could provide information to support the physical archaeological evidence and provide new knowledge.
As a result of our research Thynghowe is now included on the English Heritage National Monuments Record. We now need to collect more evidence to ensure that it becomes protected as a Scheduled Monument. This process has been supported by a topographical survey of the top of Thynghowe carried out by Nottinghamshire County Council Archaeologists and a survey undertaken by the University College London as part of the Landscapes of Governance Project.

Sherwood Forest Thynghowe Project Details & Flyer

Check out our recruitment flyer: