JORVIK VIKING CENTREpresents

the great british

beArD OFF

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For over 30 years the JORVIK Viking Centre has brought the world of the Vikings vividly to life. Each year thousands of school children and hundreds of thousands of visitors have had a unique opportunity to get up close to the Vikings and experience the sights, sounds and smells of 10th- century York. From the largest Viking poo in the world to Viking musical instruments, rare and unique finds preserved here in York and on display in JORVIK have shown the intimate details of Viking life to generations of visitors.

Our target is to raise £500k, which will enable us to bring the most cutting- edge research and technology into the new JORVIK experience, ready for launch in Spring 2017.

Fact! We reach 70,000 school children a year through our attractions,

workshops and outreach programme!

Following the extensive flood damage sustained in December 2015, we are now in the process of re-imagining JORVIK Viking Centre. This is an opportunity for us to bring the latest research and technology together to bring the Vikings into the 21st Century. As an educational charity it is our duty to continue presenting York’s vibrant Viking history to the next generation and beyond. To help with rebuilding to the highest possible standard, we have launched our fundraising appeal called Campaign Canute.

hOw cAn you help?The Great British Beard Off is our campaign to challenge as many schoolchildren in Britain to spend the day at school as a Viking. Smarten up your class with some fashionable Viking beards and help the Vikings of JORVIK rebuild their home, all while having a fun learning experience at the same time!

Fact! The objects in our galleries came

from the Coppergate Dig of 1976-81

and are just some of over 20,000

finds uncovered!

Fact! 400,000 people visit the Jorvik Viking Centre a year. 18 million

people have visited since we first opened in 1984!

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running A great British beArd OFFBeards were incredibly important in the Viking period (see pg 6 for more info) so what better way to help the Vikings of JORVIK than having your own Beard Off? Follow our simple steps below and grow your own event.

1Register your school

by1st July. Simply email

greatbritishbeardoff

@yorkat.co.uk

5Send the money you raise to Campaign Canute. Any amount you raise, large or small, is gratefully

received.

2Get your class to make

themselves an impressive beard using our handy

guide!

3Have a £1 non-uniform day – with Viking beards! Use our resources or activity ideas to have a great Viking themed

day!

4Check out our bonuses

and get your class in with a chance to win some

amazing opportunities when the JORVIK Viking

Centre reopens.

theme YOur DaY!

tYr’s day (tuesDaY beArd OFF)Tyr was the god of bravery who lost his hand to the terrifying wolf Fenrir. Set challenges for your class and create a wall of accomplishments to show off their bravery!

Odin’s DAy (WeDnesdAy BearD OFF)Odin gave the ‘Mead of Poetry’ to mankind. The Vikings loved poetry and storytelling. Have a go at writing your own Viking saga for your class to perform.

thOr’s DAy(thursDay BearD oFF)Thor went fishing for the giant World Serpent Jörmungandr. See what you can get for dinner – design and prepare a Viking feast for lunch!

Freya’s DaY (FridAy BearD OFF)Freya was the Goddess of Beauty and of Battle. See who can come up with the most beautiful (or fiercest) Viking costume.6

Submit your entries to

greatbritishbeardoff@

yorkat.co.uk

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MaKe A BearDThis template is just a guide to get you started. Beards can be any style and length you like, and made from anything!

PaperPrint this template on

card, collage with strips of

coloured paper, then glue

or tape a stick or straw to

the back for your instant

beard!

WOOlCut out a beard shape

from felt using the template. Stitch or glue

strands, bunches or plaits of wool to make a very

bushy beard in any size or shape you want!

FaBricUse this template or

make your own to cut out a beard-shaped piece of furry fabric or felt! Make

a hole on each side to attach a piece

of elastic.

Use your imagination to think of other ways to make an impressive beard!

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bOnuses FOr YOur beArds!The deadline for schools to submit their interest to the Great British Beard Off is the 1st July, 2016. As an incentive to register early, the first ten schools to do so will receive a FREE personalised video from one of the Vikings here at JORVIK.

there Will AlsO be Prizes given out to participants in the following categories:

Plus one lucky school partaking in the event will win a trip to JORVIK Viking Centre when it reopens in 2017. For terms and conditions, please see p8

best beArds largest

numBer OF BeArds

best clOthes

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ViKings And their BeArdsMany people imagine the Vikings to be tall and strong fighters, who were often quite smelly and hairy. The Vikings certainly told stories about being brave warriors but the skeletal evidence suggests that both Viking men and women were not much taller than the average person living in England 1000 years ago.

The idea that Vikings didn’t wash or care about their appearance does not seem to be true either - whilst a Viking travelling on a long sea voyage or fighting on the battlefield might have been a bit grubby, stories and other written sources from Viking times report that they were very proud of their long hair and beards, and they were known to be far cleaner than the Anglo-Saxon men who were living here in England at the same time.

Long hair and beards could be seen as a sign of wealth and status in Viking times, as it showed you had the time and money to groom yourself. In archaeological digs around York, artefacts such as clothes, toothpicks, nail cleaners and tweezers have been found which suggest that the Vikings around here were just as keen as us to keep clean!

A later 12th-century account of the Vikings suggests that the Viking men were very popular with the ladies because they were so clean and well dressed.

What do you think of Viking cleaning habits?

true Or False??The Vikings washed their hands and faces every dayThe Vikings combed their beards and hair every dayViking soap was made out of wood ash and animal fatViking men and women wore makeupViking men and women dyed their hairVikings didn’t have many rotten teeth

ansWer: These are all true!

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cOmpOsite cOmbsAny self-respecting Viking needs a good comb to keep hair and beard not just neat but also clean and lice-free! The best Viking combs were made out of deer antler and they are one of the most common finds from the Viking Age.

Deer antler is a very strong material as it is a kind of bone that grows from the head of different species of deer. It is usually the male deer that grow antlers and they are used for fighting. It is a useful material for the Vikings as deer shed and re-grow their antlers each year, so craftsmen could have a yearly supply without needing to harm the deer.

Antler combs are made from two longer spine pieces riveted to a row of smaller ‘toothplates’. Using lots of individual toothplates makes better use of the antler and makes a broken tooth easier and cheaper to replace than the full comb. Each comb would take many hours to saw all the individual teeth so they might have cost quite a bit of money and a comb could have been seen as a prized possession.

Head lice would have been a common problem for Vikings as all the family would live, work and sleep in a single room. Luckily, the teeth are so fine and strong they would have worked like a modern nit comb. Some of the combs found in York still had the egg casings of the lice caught between the teeth!

Fact! Parts of around 200 combs were

found around just four houses on a

street in York. Maybe there was a

comb maker living on the street, or

maybe they were just very popular

possessions!

Fact! The Vikings called Saturday ‘Laugardagr’ which means ‘bath day.’ This was the day when they

would wash themselves and their clothes.

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be quick tO enter yOur schOol into the great british BearD OFF!

the deadline tO register is the 1st JulY. hOWever yOu cAn holD

yOur viking day anytime uP until the enD OF 2016.remeMBer!

Visit our website www.jorvik-viking-centre

to access lots of useful Viking-related

resources to help you plan your day.

terms FOr prizes Exclusive personalised videos will be awarded to the first ten schools that register. Prizes for best beards, best clothes and largest number of beards will be given out in early 2017 once all entries have been submitted to greatbritishbeardoff@yorkat.co.uk

The number of free tickets issued to the school that wins the free trip to JORVIK will be the equivalent of the number of £1 submissions made for that entry. For example a class of 30 taking part (and each child paying £1), the winning class would qualify for 30 free tickets (plus free tickets for accompanying adults on our usual recommended child:adult ratio).

JORVIK is owned by York Archaeological Trust. A registered Charity in England and Wales (No. 509060) and Scotland (SCO42846)

For more information on Campaign Canute visit

www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/canute

remeMBer!To share images

of your school’s day on

social media using the

hashtags #BeardOff and

#CampaignCanute

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