Dig on the Green: Upturned Viking Boat found by The Tythings, Sutton Who?

The town has been abuzz with the news that a wholly intact 100ft Viking longship has been uncovered in the park on The Green. Positioned vertically, this 9th-century war vessel is a stark reminder of Yateley’s amazing history. Some historians have queried why its presence was not reported to archaeologists sooner, however,  locals believe that because it was revealed slowly over a long period of time due to natural erosion patterns and footballs bouncing into it, that this made the ship harder to explicitly notice. Meanwhile, many Yateley residents stated that when they eventually did register it, they assumed it was simply a themed climbing frame for the playground.

Yateley Historical Society has criticised the dig, however, arguing that we are a proud Saxon town, and that the notion of having a Norwegian Viking ship as a tourist attraction is a damning rejection of our values as a village and a forgetting of all the damage the Vikings did to Lindisfarne alongside the broader North – some of which you can still see today in Bradford.

Norway have already begun a campaign to return the ship home, with one particularly notable hat-wearing, whip-bearing, though anonymous, archaeologist, stressing “it belongs in a museum”. The Norwegian government has asserted their desire to avoid an international incident, though has stated they will not rule out sending ‘raiders’ to pillage Yateley as a direct course of action, a threat that Yateley’s monk community has widely condemned. Yateley Council has said that they are also “reviewing their options” and that they have not ruled out using ancient druid magic to revive Alfred the Great.