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Axes have been used in warfare in northern Europe since at least the Iron Age. The development which characterizes the Viking Period use of the axes is the development of a large, heavy axe-head on a long shaft which could be used two-handed as a devastating assault weapon. After the accession of Cnut to the English throne, the Scandinavian institution known as the húskarlir(house-carls) was introduced to England as a standing army at the king’s disposal and independent of the existing Anglo-Saxon military structures. Men of this type are shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, using their axes with both hands, fighting alongside King Harold. Other than the large two-handed axe, Viking period warriors also used the skeggöx or ‘bearded axe’ which featured a curved extension on the lower edge, which may have been useful in naval warfare for grappling. The battle axes on this site are often mechanically cleaned and preserved; others are preserved in an ‘as found’ state.
