Jorvik Viking Centre is laid out like a Viking village. Courtesy Jorvik Viking Centre
Jorvik Viking Centre in York is celebrating its 15 millionth visitor with a special event on December 6 for a select group including the actual 15 millionth visitor.
The group, made up of competition winners and the Chief Executive of the City of York Council, Bill McCarthy, as well as the lucky visitor number 15 million, will take a journey on foot through Jorvik’s reconstructed Viking age streets. The village is normally only accessible to the public via cable car.
Leading the tour will be one of the men that made the whole place happen, Richard Hall. Hall, now Deputy Director of York Archaological Trust, began excavating the site upon which the Jorvik Centre is built back in 1972, with the help of a 600-strong team.
Two other key members of the dig team, Assistant Director Ailsa Mainman and Head of Education Andrew Jones, will also be on hand to give guests a fascinating insight into the story of the world’s greatest ever Viking discovery
“The excavation, which took place at what is now the site of the Centre, will go down in world history as one of the most significant digs ever carried out,” commented Sarah Maltby, Director of Attractions at York Archaeological Trust.
“The finds discovered from building remnants through to animal and food remains have given us an unsurpassed understanding of how the Vikings lived and how York evolved under their rulership.”
About 40,000 Viking objects were unearthed during the Coppergate dig in the 1970s, including wood, leather, cloth and bugs, all preserved by moist earth. Items were put on permanent display when the Jorvik Centre was opened in 1984. It underwent a £5million refurbishment in 2001.
“The fact that we are welcoming our 15 millionth visitor to the Centre is testament to the incredible Viking evidence unearthed by Richard and his team, and the public’s enduring love affair with York’s incredibly rich past.”
