Galleries aim to lift the lid on secrets of Viking life

Directors at the city's Jorvik Viking Centre have announced a 150,000 project to create two new galleries to reveal more about the original archaeological discoveries from the famous Coppergate dig.

Detailed research will examine what the Viking-age citizens of Coppergate ate based on scientific analysis of what was left in pottery vessels found on site.

A new study will also be conducted on human faeces discovered in the excavations that were carried out in the centre of York in the late 1970s and early 1980s and led to the creation of the Viking centre.

One of the galleries will also look at the final battles in York that heralded the end of the Viking era and the coming of the Normans.

It will feature skeletal remains showing battle wounds and a full skeleton with evidence of severe trauma, alongside scientific analysis about how the warriors died.

New research from Dundee University on the skull of the female found at Coppergate will enable the York Archaeological Trust to reveal exactly what she looked like.

An osteological study of the remains has revealed that she suffered from severe hip displacia, a withered right leg, a lurching gait and would have walked with a crutch.

The York Archaeological Trust's director of attractions, Sarah Maltby, said: "Using 'real life' remains from the original excavation – including two human skeletons – the new exhibits will tell people a lot more than we previously knew about the Vikings."

Work on the galleries will begin in January and is due to be finished the following month. It is being funded by the Wolfson Foundation, a charity supporting work in science and medicine, health, education and the arts.

The Jorvik Viking Centre will remain open while the work is carried out, but access to some galleries will be limited.