Jorvik Viking Centre, York
Caroline McDonald steps back in time at this immersive visitor attraction that reopened recently in Yorkshire
When floods hit York in December 2015, Jorvik Viking Centre found itself engulfed by up to one metre of water.
A rapid response rescued the original Viking artefacts but much of the popular attraction was beyond saving. Undaunted, the team faced up to the challenge of getting Jorvik back on its feet and it reopened to the public in April.
From catastrophe came opportunity and Jorvik is now reimagined for the fourth time since it opened in 1984. The visitor model of its immersive ride and exhibition remains unchanged but incorporates new research, interpretation and technology. It was some years since I had visited and I was excited to be returning.
Visitors move through three zones in the Coppergate site. First of all, visitors enter the introductory area of the Discover Coppergate Gallery below ground (once the level of the original Viking streets). Its showpiece is an expansive glass floor covering reconstructed Viking timbers as they were found more than 30 years ago. It is impressive and I enjoyed the experience of floating above the history beneath.
The story of the dig is told through audiovisual presentations that include the voices and recollections of those who took part. It does a good job, but lacks energy and does little to raise anticipation. Similarly, the touchscreen interactive that reconstructs excavation processes is solid but uninspiring. I moved through this space quite quickly.
Compelling ride
Part of my hurry was of course to get to the main attraction, Experience Coppergate, an immersive ride in a time capsule that transports visitors around re-created Viking streets. A touchscreen and audio speakers allow you to select one of 18 commentaries, with audio description and 14 language options. Hearing loops and wheelchair accessibility make the ride inclusive.
A video introduction takes you back through a timeline until you reach AD 960 and approach the city. The audio that I chose to listen to was about the people who worked on the excavation. The narration opens up a world that is factual and awe-inspiring.
We first meet a hunter and his dog, one of 31 animatronic people at Jorvik and one of 22 created for this reimagining. Their movement is not quite lifelike, but the realism of their faces and figures is compelling and it is easy to be drawn into their world. Even the Viking man going to the toilet is back, new and improved though no less indisposed.
A menagerie of animals brings charm to the streets of Jorvik and the piglets steal the show. It is pleasing to see the archaeological evidence for far-traded goods and travel transformed into ethnically diverse faces among the crowd.
Similarly, a Christian priest is reflective of the shift in religious beliefs. The sight of a slave trader at work provides a darker glimpse of Jorvik but it is disappointing that an enslaved girl, tied to a frame, is the first woman we meet on our journey.
However, it’s clear that effort has been made to include more women and children. We learn that one woman walking on a crutch is based on a skeleton discovered at the site. Her struggle with the hip dysplasia and arthritis that was discovered through the scientific study of her bones is visceral, keeping the story connected to the evidence.
For the first time there are live Vikings in the street scene. I felt this reinforced how good the models were and I enjoyed the surprise. While they do not interact with visitors we hear them speaking in Old Norse and Old English, or one of the many other languages spoken in ancient Jorvik.
The snippets of language, mingled with music recorded using replicas of instruments found during the dig, along with other sounds of the city, form an engaging soundtrack to Viking life. Jorvik wouldn’t be Jorvik without the smells of fish, fire and cesspits, and these are now enhanced with aromas that evoke forests and damp wharfs.
True to life
The streets and houses show superb attention to detail. I was pleased that the audio narration embraces archaeology’s inherent ambiguity – sometimes there are things we just do not know. For me, the weeds and broken things brought the strongest sense of reality. My favourite object was the overturned bucket of dye that we learn left its red traces in the soil for more than 1,000 years. This is the joy of archaeology: the small glimpses into the mundane.
The 16-minute ride is insightful and entertaining – I did it twice. After completing my journey, I disembarked into the next and last section, Explore Coppergate, which is the new exhibition space.
It is modern and spacious, with a clear route for visitors. Wall-set cases explore themes such as textiles and houses, while freestanding cases showcase star objects including, for one month only, the famously well-preserved York helmet, found on site in 1982. Cases are low, ideal for children and wheelchair users, though their interior colour scheme is
too dark to set off some objects.
Although the gallery has visual appeal the content is less well arranged. There is no introduction panel or map to contextualise the Vikings in York. Where did they come from? Was anyone living here before them?
Despite no weapons being found at the site, the exhibition began with a case of swords and axes loaned by the British Museum. While they serve to put the Coppergate Vikings in a national context, this is a strange beginning. General information panels appear throughout the display but seem misplaced.
At one point I wondered if I was doing it backwards. The People of Jorvik panel came after the display of the skeletal remains and the Viking World panel at the end of the exhibit.
Text issues
Interpretation is clear but lacking – the text reads like an archaeological monograph with bare object descriptions. The only Viking Age sock from England is described in terms of its material, and the costumed guide who engaged me with its replica told me about the stitching and manufacture. What a shame not to be prompted to think about the person who had worn it or to make a connection with the socks sitting in my own drawer.
I felt the gallery lost some of the human connection created by the ride and Viking enactors. This disconnect was particularly evident with the human skeletons. Confusingly, I learned what type of coffin the man from Swinegate had before I learned the man was possibly of mixed ancestry.
The gallery’s design makes it accessible to children. Good audiovisuals, such as the interactive touchscreen that explore the skeletons using the most recent isotopic and osteological research, are engaging.
Activities such as coin- striking, a demonstration area with a magnifier screen and object handling with costumed guides offer varied and exciting ways to explore the Vikings.
While some areas of the attraction are stronger than others, Jorvik Viking Centre will always be more than the sum of its parts. It continues to demonstrate the best of what archaeology can be.
Research and investigation, inspiring objects and compelling narratives offer a sense of place and connection to real people, which helps us understand our humanity a little bit more. At its heart, Jorvik created, and has now re-created, a unique connection to the people of Viking Age York.
Caroline McDonald is the museum manager of the Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle, and a museum archaeologist
Cost £4.2m
Main funders Department for Communities and Local Government; Arts Council England (Museum Resilience Fund); Yorventure; Garfield Weston Foundation; York Council; Aurelius Charitable Trust; Holbeck Charitable Trust; Ready to Borrow Grant Scheme (ACE); the Hobson Trust; Charles Haywood Charitable Foundation; Wolfson Foundation; York Conservation Trust; George A Moore Trust; Two Ridings Community Foundation;
Whitwam Family Charitable Foundation; Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust
Exhibition design RMA
Display cases ClickNetherfield Animatronics Lifeformations Smells Dale Air
Artefact displays Paula Atkinson and Erich Kadow, Petrichor Lighting Robin Symonds, Alsace lighting
Admission Adult £10.25; child (5-16) £7.25
The sock is an everyday item that is so mundane that we take for granted what it does: stopping your shoes from causing your feet to blister, keeping them warm in cold weather and wicking away sweat when it is warm.
And they have served this purpose for more than 1,000 years.This innocuous object is now displayed in one of five iconic cases in the new artefacts gallery of the reimagined Jorvik Viking Centre, and rightly so, when you consider that the woollen sock we have on display is the only example found in England.
Jorvik was a place where the Vikings made their homes and raised their families, regularly welcoming traders from around the world. It was a city of migrants – indeed, this sock was probably made in Scandinavia and possibly travelled to York on
the foot of a trader, being mended at least once, highlighting the importance of the item and its value to the owner.
Examples of the single-eyed needle used to create this type of sock have been found, but the sock is the only example of the Viking knitting technique nålebinding found in this country, preserved by York’s oxygen-free waterlogged soil, for a 1,000 years. A red band around the ankle was either decorative or part of a red sock leg, now lost.
This sock represents one aspect of the many everyday items that can be found in Jorvik, telling the stories of the people that lived, worked and traded in the city more than one thousand years ago.
Sarah Maltby is the director of attractions at Jorvik Viking Centre
A rapid response rescued the original Viking artefacts but much of the popular attraction was beyond saving. Undaunted, the team faced up to the challenge of getting Jorvik back on its feet and it reopened to the public in April.
From catastrophe came opportunity and Jorvik is now reimagined for the fourth time since it opened in 1984. The visitor model of its immersive ride and exhibition remains unchanged but incorporates new research, interpretation and technology. It was some years since I had visited and I was excited to be returning.
Visitors move through three zones in the Coppergate site. First of all, visitors enter the introductory area of the Discover Coppergate Gallery below ground (once the level of the original Viking streets). Its showpiece is an expansive glass floor covering reconstructed Viking timbers as they were found more than 30 years ago. It is impressive and I enjoyed the experience of floating above the history beneath.
The story of the dig is told through audiovisual presentations that include the voices and recollections of those who took part. It does a good job, but lacks energy and does little to raise anticipation. Similarly, the touchscreen interactive that reconstructs excavation processes is solid but uninspiring. I moved through this space quite quickly.
Compelling ride
Part of my hurry was of course to get to the main attraction, Experience Coppergate, an immersive ride in a time capsule that transports visitors around re-created Viking streets. A touchscreen and audio speakers allow you to select one of 18 commentaries, with audio description and 14 language options. Hearing loops and wheelchair accessibility make the ride inclusive.
A video introduction takes you back through a timeline until you reach AD 960 and approach the city. The audio that I chose to listen to was about the people who worked on the excavation. The narration opens up a world that is factual and awe-inspiring.
We first meet a hunter and his dog, one of 31 animatronic people at Jorvik and one of 22 created for this reimagining. Their movement is not quite lifelike, but the realism of their faces and figures is compelling and it is easy to be drawn into their world. Even the Viking man going to the toilet is back, new and improved though no less indisposed.
A menagerie of animals brings charm to the streets of Jorvik and the piglets steal the show. It is pleasing to see the archaeological evidence for far-traded goods and travel transformed into ethnically diverse faces among the crowd.
Similarly, a Christian priest is reflective of the shift in religious beliefs. The sight of a slave trader at work provides a darker glimpse of Jorvik but it is disappointing that an enslaved girl, tied to a frame, is the first woman we meet on our journey.
However, it’s clear that effort has been made to include more women and children. We learn that one woman walking on a crutch is based on a skeleton discovered at the site. Her struggle with the hip dysplasia and arthritis that was discovered through the scientific study of her bones is visceral, keeping the story connected to the evidence.
For the first time there are live Vikings in the street scene. I felt this reinforced how good the models were and I enjoyed the surprise. While they do not interact with visitors we hear them speaking in Old Norse and Old English, or one of the many other languages spoken in ancient Jorvik.
The snippets of language, mingled with music recorded using replicas of instruments found during the dig, along with other sounds of the city, form an engaging soundtrack to Viking life. Jorvik wouldn’t be Jorvik without the smells of fish, fire and cesspits, and these are now enhanced with aromas that evoke forests and damp wharfs.
True to life
The streets and houses show superb attention to detail. I was pleased that the audio narration embraces archaeology’s inherent ambiguity – sometimes there are things we just do not know. For me, the weeds and broken things brought the strongest sense of reality. My favourite object was the overturned bucket of dye that we learn left its red traces in the soil for more than 1,000 years. This is the joy of archaeology: the small glimpses into the mundane.
The 16-minute ride is insightful and entertaining – I did it twice. After completing my journey, I disembarked into the next and last section, Explore Coppergate, which is the new exhibition space.
It is modern and spacious, with a clear route for visitors. Wall-set cases explore themes such as textiles and houses, while freestanding cases showcase star objects including, for one month only, the famously well-preserved York helmet, found on site in 1982. Cases are low, ideal for children and wheelchair users, though their interior colour scheme is
too dark to set off some objects.
Although the gallery has visual appeal the content is less well arranged. There is no introduction panel or map to contextualise the Vikings in York. Where did they come from? Was anyone living here before them?
Despite no weapons being found at the site, the exhibition began with a case of swords and axes loaned by the British Museum. While they serve to put the Coppergate Vikings in a national context, this is a strange beginning. General information panels appear throughout the display but seem misplaced.
At one point I wondered if I was doing it backwards. The People of Jorvik panel came after the display of the skeletal remains and the Viking World panel at the end of the exhibit.
Text issues
Interpretation is clear but lacking – the text reads like an archaeological monograph with bare object descriptions. The only Viking Age sock from England is described in terms of its material, and the costumed guide who engaged me with its replica told me about the stitching and manufacture. What a shame not to be prompted to think about the person who had worn it or to make a connection with the socks sitting in my own drawer.
I felt the gallery lost some of the human connection created by the ride and Viking enactors. This disconnect was particularly evident with the human skeletons. Confusingly, I learned what type of coffin the man from Swinegate had before I learned the man was possibly of mixed ancestry.
The gallery’s design makes it accessible to children. Good audiovisuals, such as the interactive touchscreen that explore the skeletons using the most recent isotopic and osteological research, are engaging.
Activities such as coin- striking, a demonstration area with a magnifier screen and object handling with costumed guides offer varied and exciting ways to explore the Vikings.
While some areas of the attraction are stronger than others, Jorvik Viking Centre will always be more than the sum of its parts. It continues to demonstrate the best of what archaeology can be.
Research and investigation, inspiring objects and compelling narratives offer a sense of place and connection to real people, which helps us understand our humanity a little bit more. At its heart, Jorvik created, and has now re-created, a unique connection to the people of Viking Age York.
Caroline McDonald is the museum manager of the Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle, and a museum archaeologist
Project data
Cost £4.2m
Main funders Department for Communities and Local Government; Arts Council England (Museum Resilience Fund); Yorventure; Garfield Weston Foundation; York Council; Aurelius Charitable Trust; Holbeck Charitable Trust; Ready to Borrow Grant Scheme (ACE); the Hobson Trust; Charles Haywood Charitable Foundation; Wolfson Foundation; York Conservation Trust; George A Moore Trust; Two Ridings Community Foundation;
Whitwam Family Charitable Foundation; Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust
Exhibition design RMA
Display cases ClickNetherfield Animatronics Lifeformations Smells Dale Air
Artefact displays Paula Atkinson and Erich Kadow, Petrichor Lighting Robin Symonds, Alsace lighting
Admission Adult £10.25; child (5-16) £7.25
Focus on Secrets of a sock
The sock is an everyday item that is so mundane that we take for granted what it does: stopping your shoes from causing your feet to blister, keeping them warm in cold weather and wicking away sweat when it is warm.
And they have served this purpose for more than 1,000 years.This innocuous object is now displayed in one of five iconic cases in the new artefacts gallery of the reimagined Jorvik Viking Centre, and rightly so, when you consider that the woollen sock we have on display is the only example found in England.
Jorvik was a place where the Vikings made their homes and raised their families, regularly welcoming traders from around the world. It was a city of migrants – indeed, this sock was probably made in Scandinavia and possibly travelled to York on
the foot of a trader, being mended at least once, highlighting the importance of the item and its value to the owner.
Examples of the single-eyed needle used to create this type of sock have been found, but the sock is the only example of the Viking knitting technique nålebinding found in this country, preserved by York’s oxygen-free waterlogged soil, for a 1,000 years. A red band around the ankle was either decorative or part of a red sock leg, now lost.
This sock represents one aspect of the many everyday items that can be found in Jorvik, telling the stories of the people that lived, worked and traded in the city more than one thousand years ago.
Sarah Maltby is the director of attractions at Jorvik Viking Centre