On Ridgeway Hill in the County of Dorset, a mass burial was found with the remains of 54 males. These individuals had all been executed in a gruesome manner with their decapitated heads dumped together in a large pit. Interestingly enough all of the sharp blade wounds had been struck from the front, meaning these individuals had faced their enemy. Radiocarbon dating showed the bodies were from 890-1030 AD. Strontium isotopes found in the bones show these individuals were originally from Scandinavia.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which had been written around 890 AD, provides a year-by-year account of all the major happenings in Anlgo Saxon England. Aethelred the Unready had been king from 978-1016 AD - it is quite possible these bodies died during his reign. Initially the king had paid Viking raiders off with over 10,000 pounds to stop raiding their lands. Later they began hiring Norse mercenaries to fight off the invading Vikings - however these mercenaries would switch sides frequently and proved too risky.

An ancient cemetery was discovered in Hassleben Thuringia which remained the richest ancient grave found in Germany for almost a hundred years. Not only was the oldest written Germanic word ever discovered etched onto a comb, but hundreds of Roman coins, ceramic fragments and Roman-style brooches were also discovered. This is no accident as much of our knowledge regarding Thuringia and broader Germania comes from the Roman historian Tacitus. The Elbe Germanic tribes who moved into this region were allies of the Romans who were trading partners, a buffer to the neighbouring Chatti - sworn enemies of Rome, as well as specialised in metalworking of iron and precious metals.

Here you can see the richly outfitted grave of the Princess of Hassleben which demonstrates the influential noble class who had a very close relationship with the Romans. She was a young woman buried with a choker, golden fibulae, a ring, a collier of roman glass beads, roman coins, pottery plates and vessels. In her mouth was a Roman gold coin - known as Charons obol - which would provide payment to Charon the ferryman to allow her soul to reach the world of the dead. Next to her remains lay the skeleton of a small dog - possibly her personal pet.

For the people of Pompeii the world reached a horrific end in the Autumn of 79 AD. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters written by Pliny the Younger (who was 17 at the time of the eruption) to the Roman historian Tacitus some 25 years later. Observing the first volcanic activity from across the Bay of Naples 29 kilometers away, Pliny the Elder (his uncle) launched a rescue fleet immediately - while Pliny the Younger stayed behind. He wrote of a extraordinary dense cloud rising above mount Vesuvius. His words describe a pine-tree with spreading branches which was sometimes bright and sometimes dark and spotted - impregnated with earth and cinders. After three tremors the sea rolled back upon itself. Flashes appeared through dark clouds and ash fell like a blanket of snow.

Meanwhile for Pliny the Elder things were taking a turn for the worse. As commander fo the Roman fleet at Misenum he went to investigate the phenomenon at close range. He ordered the fleet galleys to evacuate the people on the coast. As he neared the other side of the bay he encountered thick showers of hot cinders, lumps of pumice and pieces of rock. Ignoring the helmsman to turn back Pliny insisted that Fortune favors the brave and continued to Stabiae - a town about 4.5km from Pompeii. Very soon they realized the strong onshore wind prevented any ships from leaving. Pliny and his party saw flames shooting from parts of the mountain - presumed to be burning villages. Forced to stay overnight the crew attempted to approach the beach with pillows tied to their heads to protect from rockfall - however the wind had not changed and exhausted Pliny sat down on a sail for a rest to never stand again.