Viking axe found in Slimbridge gives historical insight

[Kev]

AN axe head found by accident at the bottom of a Slimbridge garden has helped shed light on the area’s Viking past.

The discovery was made more than four years ago by local naturalist Ian Darling.

He said: "I live in a very old house so I’ve always got my eyes peeled. I was just at the bottom of my garden one day and it seemed to be lying under the hedge. It must have been there a long time."

At the time a team of archaeologists from Bristol University were working at Berkeley Castle.

Mr Darling showed his find and was encouraged to seek further expert advice.

Mr Darling took the axe head to both Gloucester and Stroud Museums, and eventually it was sent to a specialist conservation firm based in Wiltshire where it was X-rayed. It is now believed to be of Viking origin.

Peter Ballard, vice-president of Slimbridge Local History Society, believes the find supports theories that Cambridge, which is less than a mile away, was the site of a significant Viking battle.

"There has always been a story that there was a battle in Cambridge in 894AD which the Saxons won," said Mr Ballard.

In 894 AD, before the death of King Alfred, a large Viking band is known to have sailed up the River Severn and fought a bloody battle, when three Viking princes were killed.

Historians believe the battle may have taken place over a wide area of the Berkeley Vale and for over a century archaeologists have speculated where the Vikings could have moored their ships.

Mr Ballard said he hoped this most recent find might lead to other artefacts coming to light.

He said: "We might just jog families’ memories, families who have lived through the vale, to tell us of times when their families have unearthed anything like swords, shields or axe heads.

"There was reportedly a sword found in Slimbridge near the River Cam 80 years ago but it has since been lost. That could have supported the view that the battle happened in Cambridge."

The Viking axe head is now at Stroud Museum but will be returning to Slimbridge on Tuesday, February 21 (7.30pm) for a special evening being held at Slimbridge Village Hall to highlight the importance of the find.

Speakers will include David Mullin, curator of Stroud Museum, and Tony Roberts from Bristol University, who is studying for a Phd on the subject of Vikings in the Severn Estuary.

[Kev]

UPDATE ....................................

An axe head found in a garden in Gloucestershire, which was claimed to be of Viking origin, is an 18th Century woodworking tool, experts have said.
                                                                                
                                                                                                   The axe head has been on display at Stroud Museum for the last six months


It was found in 2008 by Ian Hunter Darling under a hedge at his home in Slimbridge.

Slimbridge Local History Society who said last week it was Viking have now renamed it the "Slimbridge axe head".

A meeting about the find is taking place in Slimbridge on 21 February.

David Mullin, from Stroud Museum, where the axe head has been on display for the last six months, said: "The axe was deposited with the museum, its Viking origin having been suggested by others.

'Difficult to date'
"It will continue to be on display at the museum and we plan to take it to the Slimbridge Local History meeting on 21 February."

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The find has aroused a great deal of interest and incredulity with the archaeological community”

Professor Mark Horton
University of Bristol
Archaeologist Kurt Adams, from Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, said he went to see the find at Stroud Museum on Thursday.

He said: "It's definitely an 18th or 19th Century woodworking tool - a heavy duty woodworking axe.

"Axes can be quite difficult to date because the form fits the function - but having said that Viking and battle axes are quite distinct.

"A single artefact doesn't show evidence for a battle, as it could have been an object which was traded or lost."

Peter Ballard, from the Slimbridge Local History Society, said: "We've decided to call it the 'Slimbridge axe head' because we don't know whether it's Viking or 18th Century."

Professor Mark Horton, from the University of Bristol, said: "The find has aroused a great deal of interest and incredulity with the archaeological community on the internet - on the Britarch discussion board.

"There is no way that this is a Viking axe head - they look completely different. As to the claim that there was a major battle at Minchinhampton in the 10th Century - these I'm afraid are the product of an over fertile antiquarian imagination.

"There was certainly Viking activity on the River Severn during this period but this is a case of two plus two equalling five."