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Monument details
| HER Number: | TQ 97 SE 29 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Viking camp on Sheppey |
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Summary
Viking camp on Sheppey AD 855/856 (site unknown)
| Grid Reference: | TQ 95 70 |
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| Map Sheet: | TQ97SE |
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| Parish: | MINSTER-ON-SEA, SWALE, KENT |
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Monument Types
- MILITARY CAMP (First mentioned 855, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 855 AD to 1065 AD)
Full description
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NGR TQ 95 70 (LO) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for AD 855/856 states; 'In this year heathen men for the first time stayed in Sheppey over the winter'.(1) In sharp contrast to other Viking encampments recorded in the Chronicle, such as Rochester (885), Milton (892), Benfleet and Shoebury (893), there is no mention of the construction of a fortress. This may imply that the Isle of Sheppey afforded sufficient protection for the invaders, and no earthwork defences were necessary. (1-2). Additional references (3).
<1> edited by Dorothy Whitelock, 1979, English historical documents: 1, c 500-1042, 1979, Page Nos. 189 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6380.
<2> Struth, P MAR-1994 RCHME Field Investigation (OS Card Reference). SKE49692.
<3> RCHME: Anglo Saxon Monasteries in Kent, Essex and Greater London (Collection). SKE6500.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | <1> | Bibliographic reference: edited by Dorothy Whitelock. 1979. English historical documents: 1, c 500-1042. 1979, Page Nos. 189. |
| <2> | OS Card Reference: Struth, P MAR-1994 RCHME Field Investigation. |
| <3> | Collection: RCHME: Anglo Saxon Monasteries in Kent, Essex and Greater London. |
