Isotopic analysis of lead, strontium and oxygen levels in bones and teeth can show broadly where an individual grew up and what sort of diet they had. It is possible that she was buried towards the edges of a group or in a cemetery that lay outside the Coppergate excavations although, as no other burials have been found here, she may have been an outcast.Īnalysis has told us that she was robustly built but had widespread degenerative joint disease, and was 5 ft 2in (c.1.59m) tall. Her legs were missing due to later ground works. Her skeleton was found in a shallow pit close to the River Foss. She is around 46 years old and is based on the analysis of one of the two human skeletons found at Coppergate. No other shoe of this type has been found in Britain it may then have arrived in York on the foot of a foreign trader or a slave.Īt the end of Coppergate you can see an older inhabitant of Jorvik trying to cross the road whilst struggling to walk with a crutch. It was cut with a central sole section, the sides folding up around the foot and then sewn together with a seam running from the toes to the opening for the foot. A very unusual and almost complete left shoe, found at Coppergate, was made from a single piece of leather. Leatherworkers in Jorvik made shoes of different styles including simple ‘slip-ons’ as well as boots and shoes that were laced or fastened with a leather strap or toggle. Tradition has it that it originated with the Vikings who spread it throughout Northern Europe and beyond as they travelled and intermarried. It’s a genetic disorder that runs in families, and seen particularly in middle-aged men. You can see it’s caused the fingers on his hand to become clawed. He is struggling as he suffers from Viking’s disease or Dupuytren’s Contracture. Our leatherworker, Mord, is attempting to sew together the pieces of a shoe whilst sat at his stall on Coppergate, where he is selling his wares of shoes and scabbards. Like many modern English-folk, heaven would not be complete without dogs. He is met by a Valkyrie, bearing a mead-horn, but behind her waits the warrior’s faithful hound.
The Tjängvide image stone clearly shows the arrival of a dead warrior into Valhalla. Similarly, Viking graves often contain one or more dogs. Our hunter is restraining him with a chain and collar which is based on a find from a 10th century boat grave from Uppsala, Sweden.ĭog skeletons are not uncommon in pagan Anglo-Saxon graves and these must reflect a beloved pet accompanying his master or mistress to the next world. With him is his dog, which is about the size of a modern Alsatian. He carries a bow, which is a traditional English ‘D’ bow and what he has caught for his supper, a hare. He is dressed in typical Viking fashion with a woollen tunic over a linen shirt, embellished with tablet weave. He is originally from Norway and so bids you welcome to Jorvik in Old Norse. You will encounter The Hunter as you enter the city of Jorvik for the first time.