Find Spot record MDR4290 - Viking axe, Repton church, Repton

During the excavation of a deep trench outside the walls of the crypt at Repton, dug to provide a better view of the masonry, an 'ancient axe-head' was discovered at a depth of 6ft in the south-west angle outside the chancel. Experts considered it to be a Viking axe dating to the late 9th and early 10th century, of a type especially common along the west coast of Norway. The date would therefore correspond well to the Norse occupation of Repton in 874. (1) Although no definite indications of a burial were noticed, similar cases suggest that the axe would have come from a grave. (2) The crypt is at SK 30312717, but no further information regarding the axe could be ascertained. (3)