However, two Icelanders were sufficiently convinced about Rough Lea that they visited Hunwick to substantiate the claim.

They developed the theory from a study of Egil’s Saga, an Icelandic poem from around 1220 which carries more topographical detail about the battle site than any other description. Steffan Bjornsson and Bjorn Vernhardsson believe the local landscape matches that described in Egil’s Saga and suggest the invading army came south on the Roman Road, Dere Street. The name Brunanburh does not rule it out as Brun is Old Norse for spring or stream and burh was a fortification. Dere Street crossed the river close to the Roman fort at Binchester.

However, the Irish were also involved, so there are also theories that the battle took place on the Wirral or by the Humber estuary. Olaf, the king of Dublin, joined forces with Constantine the second of Scotland and Owain, king of Strathclyde, but they were routed by Aethelstan, king of England’s forces. The day-long battle has been described as “the greatest single battle in Anglo Saxon history before Hastings” and it has been credited with providing “the point of origin of the English national identity.” The Icelanders support their theory by suggesting that Hunwick could have been a social centre for Anglo Saxon Northumbria.

The Battle of Brunanburh is not well-documented and there are many alternative locations that historians claim as being the site of the battle – but we like to think that Hunwick has the strongest claim of all!