A long-lost battlefield where Anglo-Saxon forces delivered a devastating defeat to a Viking army could finally have been found.
Researchers believe Castle Hill, a former Iron Age hillfort near Beaford in North Devon, matches ancient descriptions of the legendary Battle of Cynuit, fought in 878.
The clash came at a pivotal moment in English history, when Alfred the Great’s kingdom of Wessex was on the brink of being overwhelmed by the Vikings.
More than 800 Northmen are said to have been killed in the battle, which was won by the Anglo-Saxon army, while another account puts the death toll at around 1,200.
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