360° degree Vikings

From the middle decades of the 9th century, Anglo-Saxon East Anglia was an integral part of the Viking world, which spanned the North Sea basin. In the year AD 869, the Brecks area became a focus for the Viking Great Army, which made camp in Thetford and killed the East Anglian King Edmund in battle.

As part of our ongoing work to ensure that our partner's hard work is accessible to all, and continues to provide a long-lasting resource, we have teamed up with Vortex Visual Ltd. to create an amazing 360° tour of Ancient House Museum's recent 'Vikings on your Doorstep' exhibition, which ended after a year-long run earlier this summer.

A fascinating new addition to our website, this tour allows you to walk around the exhibition from the comfort of your home (or anywhere else), and view the exhibits, artefacts, and interpretation materials, including a number of supporting seminars and documents such as the Breckland Society's River Raiders report. Artifacts found in the Brecks, and on display were gathered from all over the country and some were loaned by the British Museum. They included high value items such as coins, gold jewellery, broaches, stirrups and swords, as well as everyday goods such as gaming pieces, pins and pottery.

This online resource means that a temporary exhibition is now accessible in perpetuity, and those who were not able to make to Ancient House Museum to see it live, including schools and students of our Viking history, can now do so at their leisure.

Click here to view the 360° degree 'Vikings on your Doorstep' tour.

Councillor Melanie Vigo di Gallidoro, Suffolk County Council's Deputy Cabinet Member for Protected Landscapes and Archaeology, said:

"It is so good to know that all the information we have about the Vikings in the Brecks is now available for everyone to view. Now you can explore their lives here in East Anglia and find out what they brought to our country so many years ago."

Oliver Bone, Curator, King's Lynn and Thetford Museums said:

“We are delighted to have a digital legacy of the popular Vikings History On Your Doorstep exhibition. The digital format will enable those who were unable to visit the museum to enjoy and learn about Breckland’s Viking heritage from home. We are grateful to The Brecks Fen Edge & Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting the exhibition and the British Museum and Suffolk Archaeology for loaning objects.

“We are also pleased that our Kick the Dust young curators’ groundbreaking interpretation of the Santon Burial finds is available via the digital exhibition. Their interpretation gained praised from Professor Richard Sandell from the University of Leicester and the Queer Heritage and Collections Network.”