ABSTRACT
The D-shaped enclosure excavated at Repton (Derbyshire) has been interpreted as the camp of the Viking Great Army when it over-wintered in AD 873–4, and for many years it provided a model in the search for further traces of the Viking Great Army in England. However, in the light of recent metal-detected evidence for much larger scale camps at Torksey (Lincolnshire) and Aldwark (North Yorkshire), and the discovery of similar finds from the area of Foremark to the east of Repton, adjacent to the Viking cremation cemetery at Heath Wood, that interpretation needs re-consideration. These camps lack artificial fortifications but do follow a pattern of strategic riverine locations. In this chapter we take a fresh look at the wider landscape of the documented Viking camps at Reading, London, Nottingham, and Thetford and re-assess the evidence for the location of these camps, suggesting that the London camp lies under what is now the Palace of Westminster on what was formerly known as Thorney Island. Further landscape studies may reveal the location of other camps.
