Around the year 850, Zutphen was the residence of a Count. He governed the county of Zutphen on behalf of the Frankish king and defended his property. Here you see the skeleton of a woman of about thirty-five years old. She died during the Viking raid on Zutphen in 882. The skeleton is one of the jewels of the museum, because it shows evidence that the Vikings were really violent. You can see this in the sword cuts around her knee. The woman probably tried to defend herself. In addition, the fact that she was not buried probably indicates murder. How did the Vikings come to Zutphen? They left Scandinavia to colonize other countries. In their homeland they were often displaced by competitive leaders so they travelled round for years in their boats, spending winters in places located near to rivers. Looking for plunder and food, the Vikings raided monasteries, trading places and old towns such as Zutphen. This is because a large supply of food was available. The fact that archaeologists know that this was a Viking raid is a unique story. Amongst the remains of the attack, a bronze coin was found. The coin from 844 was minted in the English city of York, which was conquered by Danish Vikings. The area was used as a base camp for their excursions to our regions. The coin is seen by archaeologists as the smoking gun at the crime scene, and is in the small display cabinet. Push A to hear how the Vikings were expelled to the circular Walburg, which is the basis for how Zutphen looks today.

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