Modern-day Viking coin-making at the Jorvik Viking Centre
500m 550yds
YAT
City Walls Experience
Monk Bar
DIG
Barley Hall
Jorvik Viking Centre
YAT/Jorvik Group locations in York
The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited (YAT) is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the city of York, England, and trading under the York Archaeology brand. The charity presents archaeology to the public through visitor attractions and events, and its commercial arm carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York and throughout Britain and beyond.
History
YAT was established in 1972,[1] became a registered charity in 1979,[2] and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in the same year.[3]Peter Addyman, an archaeologist and later a professor at the universities of Bradford and York, was instrumental in its creation and was the body's first director, holding that position until his retirement in 2002.[1] Addyman led excavations in York's Coppergate area between 1976 and 1981,[4] and in 1984 the trust opened the Jorvik Viking Centre on the site, in order to share the discoveries with the public and educate visitors on the significance of the Vikings in York and the British Isles.[5]
Since October 2023, York Archaeology has been the trading name of all YAT's activities.[7]
Commercial operations
YAT primarily provides archaeological services to fulfil planning conditions, serving clients from private individuals to local authorities and commercial developers, as a company operating within the commercial archaeology sector.
In 2011, Trent and Peak Archaeology was taken over by YAT, allowing extension of their commercial archaeology operations to Nottingham.[8] YAT also operated ArcHeritage, providing archaeological services in Sheffield,[9] and Northlight Heritage in Glasgow, a social enterprise promoting better use of heritage resources.[8][10] In November 2021, the three archaeological services – York, Trent & Peak and ArcHeritage – were brought together under the York Archaeology brand.[11]
Visitor attractions
The Trust created and runs the Jorvik Viking Centre in Coppergate Walk, York, which is noted for its living history approach. The centre is on the site of the Trust's 'Viking Dig' which contributed to archaeologists' knowledge of town life in Viking Age England.[12] Other sites in York run by the Jorvik Group are:
Barley Hall, an excavated and reconstructed medieval house in Coffee Yard, off Stonegate
Since the 1980s, the Jorvik Viking Festival has been run by YAT each February half term.[15]
Other operations
The trust publishes printed and web-based reports, popular books and information resources. It offers opportunities to take part in archaeological investigation through its annual training excavation 'Archaeology Live', and hosts the Community Archaeologist for York.
References
^ abLewis, Stephen (19 February 2002). "Man who dug York". York Press. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
^"History". jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
Bibliography
Jones, Andrew (1990). "Archaeological Reconstruction and Education at the Jorvik Viking Centre and Archaeological Research Centre, York, UK". In Planel, Philippe; Stone, Peter G. (eds.). Constructed Past: Experimental Archaeology, Education and the Public. London, UK: Routledge. pp. 258–268. ISBN9781134828289.
