Prof Steve Harding's Viking Wirral

    Wirral parish map (19 th cent.). The bold line demarks the approximate boundary of the 10 th century Norse enclave, based on baronial manor holdings and place names. Courtesy of Chester and Cheshire Archives & Local Studies. The Wirral peninsula in north-west England was once home to a vibrant colony of Scandinavian settlers, many of whom were Norsemen expelled from Ireland. The arrival of one group was led by Ingimund in 902, but there were others, including Danes. The intensity of the settlement is borne out by the distribution of major or settlement names in Wirral, such as Arrowe, Caldy, Claughton, Gayton, Larton, Lingham, Mollington Torold, Ness, Neston, Storeton, Thingwall, Thurstaston, Tranmere, the -by names (Frankby, Greasby, Helsby, Irby, Kirkby in Wallasey, Pensby, Raby, West Kirby, Whitby and the now lost Haby, Hesby/Eskeby, Warmby, Kiln Walby, Stromby and Syllaby) and the Norse-Irish Liscard and Noctorum. Some further settlement names, such as Birkenhead, Hesw

A new study examining the chemical makeup of iron artifacts from the Viking age aims to uncover new insights into where they came from that could reveal previously unknown information about historic events. Scientists from the University of Nottingham are leading the study that will examine 90 iron Viking-age artifacts. These are  weapons  that were used in battles at Fulford in North Yorkshire and Bebington Heath on the Wirral. Other material comes from the Viking camp at Torksey in Lincolnshire, and from the former Viking seaport of Meols. Fulford was the location for a battle in AD 1066 between Norse invaders and the Anglo-Saxons, immediately before the better-known battle of Stamford Bridge. The archeological material consists of iron weapons found at a number of short-lived iron recycling sites that were abandoned by the Norse victors at Fulford when they were defeated at Stamford Bridge five days later. The iron material from Bebington Heath was recovered from the possible locati