Essential information
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Key Stage |
Key Stage 2
|
| Curriculum links |
Geography
History
|
| Session length | 60 minutes |
| Session times | Monday and Thursday, 10.15-11.15, 11.30-12.30 and 13.00-14.00 |
| Capacity | 30 pupils per session |
| Price | £90 |
Session overview
Introduction
As a whole class, the facilitator leads a discussion about who the Vikings were, where they came from and where they travelled to.
Object handling
In five groups, learners handle replicas of objects found in Viking graves. Using their analytical skills, they work out what the object is and what sort of person would be buried with it. The class discusses what we can tell about our Viking based on all the grave goods, and why archaeology is an important source of information about the Vikings.
Viking trade
The class is introduced to a Viking trade ship and considers how Vikings could have travelled to Türkiye (Turkey) to trade. In five groups, they will have to select a trade good and present it for sale to see if they can make a good trade.
Conclusion
As a class, learners discuss the Vikings as traders, and what evidence there is for this.
Learning objectives
Learners will:
- Learn where Vikings travelled to and why
- Understand that we build knowledge of the Vikings through archaeology
- Be able to describe objects and make basic hypotheses about them
- Work as a team to investigate objects and develop arguments
Curriculum links
KS2 History
- The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
- Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources
Key words
Archaeology, trade, raiding, knarr, longboat
Suggested pre-visit knowledge and activities
This session can be delivered at any point during a topic on Vikings. The session is most successful if learners come with a basic understanding of Vikings, including their time period, where they came from, why they came to Britain and their use of longboats.
Suggested post-visit knowledge and activities
Learners can build on their investigation of archaeological evidence from the Viking period. The Viking World link below has a great range of objects to explore. Learners could also look in more detail about trade and different trade routes and goods used by the Vikings.
Useful links
Trade in the Viking period (a really good introduction from the National Museum of Denmark)
The Viking World (brilliant online museum from the Swedish History Museum with a large amount of objects, including from Birka).
Content guidance
This session deliberately excludes the Viking trade in enslaved people, and we leave mentioning this to the teacher’s discretion. The session also concentrates on trade rather than raids, although these are likely to come up in discussion. A key part of the session considers grave goods and Viking graves.