STACK #144 Oct 2016

FEATURE DVD&BD

One of the great things about Vikings is that it’s based on real people and historical events. Series creator Michael Hirst joined an archaeological dig and made an unexpected discovery… “It was good for me to get my hands dirty at a site in a place called Repton in the midlands in England, where a great Viking army led by Ivar the Boneless [the son of Ragnar Lothbrok] had their winter camp,” he recalls. “The warrior grave contained a tall body… with a sword and axe, who was probably Ivar the Boneless. If so, I’ve held the tooth of Ivar the Boneless in my hand. “They did some more exploration recently and found another two tombs,” he continues. “I went for two days and they’d uncovered a mound, suggesting a significant burial. And they found some Viking ship nails in the mound, which meant whoever was buried there was important and buried in a ship – the first ship burial that had ever been discovered in England. “I was digging away on my first morning as an archaeologist and I dug up a bit of metal about four inches long, and I said to the professor, ‘I think I’ve found another ship’s nail’, and he looked at it and said, ‘I think this is a Viking arrowhead’. The amazing thing about this is that only four Viking arrowheads have ever been found in England, which suggested even more that this was an important grave. “Half an hour later I dug up a second one, and I showed it to the professor and his face fell and he said, ‘I’ve been digging for 35 years and you’ve been here for three and a half hours!’” Digging up history

A lot of this year is [Ragnar's] fascination with death. But he's not afraid of dying

on set and pick up that sword and shield, and you have the body armour and get the braids on, and there’s blood… you just get going!” With the attention shifting to Paris this season, where does that leave King Ecbert (Linus Roache) and Wessex? “He’s going to continue to pursue his own ambitions, which is to be king of kings,” offers Michael Hirst. “He’s a fascinating character and a good foil for Ragnar – there are many things they have in common which they both recognise, and they may ultimately get the chance to talk about those things. “Wessex continues to be alive in the show. What I like about the show is that we do have different places and cultures. And we’re probably the only show on US network TV that has four dead languages in it. The academics are excited about it because the language they speak in Frankia hasn’t been spoken or heard for thousands of years.”

• Vikings: Season 4, Vol.1 is out Oct 12

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