Viking roadway discovered in ancient forest

AN ancient Viking roadway has been discovered in the depths of Sherwood Forest by experts who used specialist technology to survey the landscape in a bid to discover more about its history.

The project took place after history enthusiasts discovered an enigmatic Dark Age monument known as Thynghowe, which is believed to have been a focal point for surrounding settlements in the forest.

The ancient road was detected using a process known as Lidar (light detection and ranging) which penetrates the trees and measures the height of the ground surface. Flights were made possible using a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

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Thynghowe – a massive earthen mound – was first identified through the work of local historians and is now recognised as one of only a handful of such sites to survive in the British Isles.

A ‘thyng’ means a meeting place and experts believe Thynghowe was used by Viking warrior farmers to discuss and settle disputes. It featured a court circle with jurors and a law speaker to tell the waiting crowd the verdicts.

The site is in a Forestry Commission-owned part of the forest known as the Birklands between Worksop and Mansfield. A group of volunteers who call themselves the Friends of Thynghowe, are now working to raise awareness of its existence, with plans for a Viking re-enactment on May 18 and 19.

Lynda Mallett from the friends group said: “The story is developing and we are excited by how much information we have been able to gather. Staging the weekend is a way of showing people who the Vikings were, their costumes and culture and their contribution to our heritage, which we believe was far greater than readily acknowledged.”

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Amy Chandler, from the Forestry Commission, added: “The weekend will put flesh on the bones of the story by showing people the human side of the Vikings and re-enacting the kind of disputes which would have been settled at Thynghowe.”

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