Invaders or Settlers: the Vikings in Lincolnshire

The historical evidence for the Vikings in Lincolnshire is convincing but it is only recently that we have started to get archaeological evidence for their presence. The talk brings together the strands of evidence to show what we know about Viking Lincolnshire.

Kevin Leahy trained as a metallurgist before, attracted by the glamour of archaeology, he gave it all up and became an archaeologist. His career took him, not to exotic places, but to Lincolnshire, where he had spent his childhood holidays. For 29 years he was the archaeologist at the North Lincolnshire Museum and carried out some major excavations, mainly on Anglo-Saxon sites.

Dr Leahy has written a number of books including ‘Anglo-Saxon Crafts’, ‘The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey’ and ‘Interrupting the Pots; Excavation of Cleatham Anglo-Saxon Cemetery’. Retiring from the Museum in 2007, he now works for the Portable Antiquities Scheme as a National Finds Advisor covering the early Medieval period but also assisting with flint and stone.