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Under normal circumstances, this information would not be disclosed until all of the work was complete. However, the threat to the site and the need to stimulate debate about the significance of this evidence has persuaded me to into this early disclosure. Chas Jones
The material comes from two contexts at the heart of the battle site. The two contexts are about 200m apart.
- Site A - A hoard of billets of many shapes and including some metal working tools.
- Site B is adjacent to two separate, extensive areas of charcoal staining 1.1-1.3 m below the present level. This staining lies just above a layer of peat that has been dated to the century before the battle. This area has yielded two metal working hearth, several tools and possibly some weapon fragments.
Access to the land where these finds were discovered is presently blocked by the developers.
The shape of some of the billets suggests weapon manufacture. These might be trade shapes for later manufacture. When the source material was revisited, 15 more possible billets were identified among the 'modern scrap' from the same context. A scan of material from other areas did not reveal any similar items. This suggests that metal working was localised. However, we have yet to survey the centre of the battle as we have been blocked by the developers.
We are working with a sample of over 2000 ferrous items and a full scan is being undertaken as time permits. The recent work has produced over 500 more items for x-ray.
What are the possible explanations?:
 | There is evidence of metal working in various places within medieval York but there is no known source of iron in this area. The battlefield might have provided a source of scrap iron. |
| Twenty years ago similar debris was located on the site of the battlefield of Helgeå that took place 1026 in southern Sweden. It was tentatively interpreted by the finders as some kind of offering of weapons from the fallen soldiers. The defeat of the Norwegians and Swedes by Canute might have been one of Harald's first battles. It is an interesting coincidence that Fulford was Harald's last victory. |
| There are no large buildings, sources of raw material or other manufacture, such as shipbuilding nearby to explain the location of this metal working area. |
| There is no source of bog-iron or ore nearby nor is it very close to the river where such material might have been 'imported'. |
| One explanation for the quantity of material apparently abandoned, especially at site A, would be the disruption caused by the defeat at Stamford Bridge a few days later. |
| It is possible that the 2 sites so far identified were worked at different times, possibly centuries apart. We have a hoard of billets on one site and slag and cast iron residues from the other so it is impossible at present to compare the working techniques. |
No weapons have been recovered from either Hastings or Stamford Bridge which might be taken to indicate that damaged material was thoroughly re-cycled. This provides a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis.
This material is certainly evidence of early metal working. However, until further investigations have been conducted on these finds, and the site re-visited, we are in the area of speculation.
Post Script
A later sort revealed a second metal working site, close to the first site. Furthermore, the fragments around this site have been tentatively identified as Nordic weapon.
The hoard is much larger than originally suspected. Adjacent areas are yielding smaller items.
The arrow head that we have had conserved appears to have been in the process of manufacture. This raises the possibility that there is another metal working site on the Norse left flank.
Having floating the idea that there might have been some reprocessing after the battle, the suggestion is now advanced that the furnace and other debris provide strong, physical evidence that the battle took place along Germany Beck.
The new finds confirm that we have found an area where metalworking was taking place. The identification of some of the fragments found nearby as from Scandinavian-style weapons strongly suggests that this is debris from the battle.
Sorting Interpretation Finds 1 Finds 2 Finds 3 Finds 4 Finds 5 x-rays Iron the metal Methods