Finding Vikings in the Danelaw

Summary Historical, artefactual and place‐name evidence indicates that S candinavian migrants moved to eastern E ngland in the ninth century AD , settling in the D anelaw. However, only a handful of characteristically S candinavian burials have been found in the region. One, widely held, explanation is that most of these S candinavian settlers quickly adopted local C hristian burial customs, thus leaving S candinavians indistinguishable from the A nglo‐ S axon population. We undertook osteological and isotopic analysis to investigate the presence of first‐generation S candinavian migrants. Burials from M asham were typical of the later A nglo‐ S axon period and included men, women and children. The location and positioning of the four adult burials from C oppergate, however, are unusual for A nglo‐ S candinavian Y ork. None of the skeletons revealed interpersonal violence. Isotopic evidence did not suggest a marine component in the diet of either group, but revealed migration on a regional, and possibly an international, scale. Combined strontium and oxygen isotope analysis should be used to investigate further both regional and S candinavian migration in the later A nglo‐ S axon period.