Jorvik Visit, May 2009
When you arrive at the Jorvik Centre, you're greeted by people like us - costumed re-enactors. Consequently, it's fairly easy to strike up a conversation if you're part of the whole Living History scene. The kit is of middle-to-high-end re-enactor standard, but there is a remarkable tendency to show off Rus' kit. Even the warrior whose photograph adorns much of the literature and merchandise is wearing the 10th Century Chernigov helmet! Not a huge sin against the Great God Authenticity, but it might prove a tad misleading to the casual visitor or novice enthusiast. As a longtime Russophile, I can understand the desire to show off the bling, but we have to restrain ourselves for the greater good!
After we buy our tickets, we are ushered downstairs into a room where we view a time travel themed AV presentation and board our dodgem car, sorry, 'time pod' - all a bit naff, but the kids would love it. We then travel through Viking Age Jorvik, with commentary via headsets, past some lively animatronic figures speaking Icelandic and going about the daily business of being Anglo-Danish settlers. Crafts and trade are all lovingly depicted and explained. The displays are informative, and the immersive quality of the whole 'It's a Njal World After All' experience is enhanced by the use of appropriate smells. This has its drawbacks, particularly when our car takes us past a chap using an Anglo-Danish privy - an homage, apparently, to the enormous coprolite found in the course of the dig! We dubbed him 'Olaf the Strainer'.
While this was all good fun, I was waiting to see the finds. I was pretty disappointed to find out that photography was not allowed anywhere on the premises. Given the fact that I'd travelled 13,000 miles specifically to get some pics of the finds for our own reference, this seemed a bit excessive! There is supposed to be a book of all the Coppergate finds due out at the end of 2009, but it will probably be quite expensive. Perhaps the club should order a copy when it comes out?
The costumed archaeologist on hand was clearly champing at the bit to discuss finds with our little group, and we had a good old yarn about DNA, ethnic identity, and had a look at a skeleton which is believed to have been a casualty from Gate Fulford (the other, neglected battle of 1066). Funny how a local Anglo-Danish lad fell fighting Norwegians - in any event, Hardrada's guys must have really wanted this young guy dead in the worst way, if his injuries are anything to go by.
There was also an interesting display offering a theory as to why Egil Skallagrimson looked the way he did (fugly as) and went on to suffer extensive loss of hearing and sight in his old age. Paget's Disease was suggested as a likely cause for his peculiar facial features, and if the accompanying text is to be believed, is more common among those of Norwegian ancestry than the rest of the general population - go figure! Suffice to say that the thickening of bony tissue around the cheeks and jaws of the skull pictured in the display would certainly have given the owner an appearance frightening to anyone unable to explain it in medical terms. And hearing loss is apparently a common secondary symptom among sufferers of the form of the disease which affects the skull.... a saga mystery solved perhaps?
Unfortunately, we spent so much time chatting with the boffins that we ended up missing out on a look at the actual dig currently in progress, for which oversight I beg your forgiveness!
In summary, Jorvik is lots of fun, and extremely informative, given the fact that it is has to be the sort of place which families and school groups would visit. The only real letdown is the photography ban - not that this ruined the day, but coupled with the lack of reference material which we could use offsite, it was a bit disappointing. Although I suppose that this is only really a problem for, well... . people like us!
When you arrive at the Jorvik Centre, you're greeted by people like us - costumed re-enactors. Consequently, it's fairly easy to strike up a conversation if you're part of the whole Living History scene. The kit is of middle-to-high-end re-enactor standard, but there is a remarkable tendency to show off Rus' kit. Even the warrior whose photograph adorns much of the literature and merchandise is wearing the 10th Century Chernigov helmet! Not a huge sin against the Great God Authenticity, but it might prove a tad misleading to the casual visitor or novice enthusiast. As a longtime Russophile, I can understand the desire to show off the bling, but we have to restrain ourselves for the greater good!
After we buy our tickets, we are ushered downstairs into a room where we view a time travel themed AV presentation and board our dodgem car, sorry, 'time pod' - all a bit naff, but the kids would love it. We then travel through Viking Age Jorvik, with commentary via headsets, past some lively animatronic figures speaking Icelandic and going about the daily business of being Anglo-Danish settlers. Crafts and trade are all lovingly depicted and explained. The displays are informative, and the immersive quality of the whole 'It's a Njal World After All' experience is enhanced by the use of appropriate smells. This has its drawbacks, particularly when our car takes us past a chap using an Anglo-Danish privy - an homage, apparently, to the enormous coprolite found in the course of the dig! We dubbed him 'Olaf the Strainer'.
While this was all good fun, I was waiting to see the finds. I was pretty disappointed to find out that photography was not allowed anywhere on the premises. Given the fact that I'd travelled 13,000 miles specifically to get some pics of the finds for our own reference, this seemed a bit excessive! There is supposed to be a book of all the Coppergate finds due out at the end of 2009, but it will probably be quite expensive. Perhaps the club should order a copy when it comes out?
The costumed archaeologist on hand was clearly champing at the bit to discuss finds with our little group, and we had a good old yarn about DNA, ethnic identity, and had a look at a skeleton which is believed to have been a casualty from Gate Fulford (the other, neglected battle of 1066). Funny how a local Anglo-Danish lad fell fighting Norwegians - in any event, Hardrada's guys must have really wanted this young guy dead in the worst way, if his injuries are anything to go by.
There was also an interesting display offering a theory as to why Egil Skallagrimson looked the way he did (fugly as) and went on to suffer extensive loss of hearing and sight in his old age. Paget's Disease was suggested as a likely cause for his peculiar facial features, and if the accompanying text is to be believed, is more common among those of Norwegian ancestry than the rest of the general population - go figure! Suffice to say that the thickening of bony tissue around the cheeks and jaws of the skull pictured in the display would certainly have given the owner an appearance frightening to anyone unable to explain it in medical terms. And hearing loss is apparently a common secondary symptom among sufferers of the form of the disease which affects the skull.... a saga mystery solved perhaps?
Unfortunately, we spent so much time chatting with the boffins that we ended up missing out on a look at the actual dig currently in progress, for which oversight I beg your forgiveness!
In summary, Jorvik is lots of fun, and extremely informative, given the fact that it is has to be the sort of place which families and school groups would visit. The only real letdown is the photography ban - not that this ruined the day, but coupled with the lack of reference material which we could use offsite, it was a bit disappointing. Although I suppose that this is only really a problem for, well... . people like us!
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