Jorvik Viking Centre
The Jorvik Viking Centre is one of Britain's most popular visitor attractions. It was created by the York Archaeological Trust in 1984, when prior to the building of the Coppergate Shopping Centre, the trust conducted extensive excavations in the area.
Between the years 1976 and 81 archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust, including a team of about twelve professional excavators along with students from all over the world continued excavations. Their efforts revealed the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city of Jorvik as it stood nearly 1,000 years ago.
The team excavated over 1,000 square metres, finding the remains of tenth century Viking age buildings surrounded by moist, spongy layers of earth similar to that of a peat bog, the damp conditions had helped to preserve everyday Viking items and a mass of finds were unearthed from every era of York's history. The excavation shone a light on the city's Viking past.
Finds included vast quantities of food remains such as animal bones and oyster shells, Roman and medieval roof tiles, weapons, a coin dye, timber and woven wattles, metal working slag and around a quarter of a million pieces of pottery. Archaeologists unearthed remarkable evidence of Viking cottage industry, including metalworking, jewellery making and the craft that gave Coppergate its name - the manufacture of wooden cups and bowls.
At the Jorvik Centre remains of 1,000 year old houses are revealed and objects uncovered from the excavations are displayed. New audio and video displays help the visitor to investigate all of the information gathered from the 5-year long dig at Coppergate and piece together the puzzle of where the Vikings came from, how they came here to York, why they settled and how they lived, worked and traded with other civilizations across the world.
The reconstructed Viking-age city includes Old Norse speaking citizens, their houses and back yards, the smells of the city at that time are also recreated. Using newly commissioned studies a female skeleton shows visitors how the Vikings of Jorvik lived, what diseases and afflictions they suffered from, what they ate and even what she looked like. Working with archaeologists from universities across Britain this new research is brought to the public for the first time.
The centre has received over 17 million visitors over the past 30 years, who journey through the reconstruction of Viking Age streets, as they would have appeared 1,000 years ago. The Centre also offers four exhibitions and the chance to actually come face to face with a Viking.
York Museums
| Bar Convent Museum |
Henry VII Experience |
Jorvik Viking Centre | Richard III Experience |
| Roman Bath Museum | York Castle Museum | Yorkshire Museum | Yorkshire Museum of Farming |