With one of our largest audiences so far in 2020-21 (70 souls) Professor Katy Cubitt took us through the ways that Christian chroniclers had presented the Vikings and how the scholarly orthodoxies of the late 20^th Century had been overturned in part by the discoveries made by metal detectors!  The lecture outlined the four main invasions from 790 AD to 865 AD. She explained with fascinating maps and diagrams the conquest of East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria that left only the Wessex of King Alfred free to co-exist with the Vikings. She also presented the view from the 1970’s onwards that the Vikings were more traders than raiders who had come to Britain in their hundreds rather than their thousands; an elite who took over large areas of the country.  But then Professor Cubitt showed how the research of place name and language specialists had challenged this and how the archaeological finds by humble metal detectors had overturned the prevailing orthodoxy.  In particular she showed how the finds at Torksey in Lincolnshire uncovered by fieldwalking showed a large winter encampment. Particularly fascinating to some of us were the coins including large numbers of Arabian Dirum that showed the reach of Viking trading. Professor Cubitt also included lots of links to resources including a Horrible History song on the Vikings.  The lecture was followed by lively questions by members and guests. A really good start to 2021.