Heath Wood barrow cemetery

Heath Wood is a Viking burial site near Ingleby in Derbyshire’s East Midlands. It contains 59 barrows, making it the only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in the British Isles. The site is believed to have served as a war cemetery for the Viking Great Army that arrived in 873. Early excavations in 1855 by Thomas Bateman uncovered empty mounds where bodies were absent or buried elsewhere. Further digs between 1998 and 2000 produced finds now held in Derby Museum. The barrows link two former Burdett family estates, Foremarke Hall and Knowle Hill, via a path that still winds through the wood. The family used this route to reach St Saviour’s church, which they built in 1662. Heath Wood was once an open field in the 18th century, and its woodland has grown since then. Before the trees took over, the site offered wide views across the Trent valley. Visitors today walk a path that carefully avoids disturbing the ancient mounds. The wood is leased by the Forestry Commission and protected as a scheduled monument. No barrows were removed to make way for the route, preserving the site’s historic layout. The area remains quiet, with the barrows standing as silent reminders of the Viking presence.