 790 saw the first Viking raids and the period from this date until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age Historians believe that Vikings sailed up the River Severn and fought against the Anglo-Saxons and that in 894 AD King Alfred the Great fought the Vikings in a bloody battle at Minchinhampton, about 10 miles from Arlingham.Fighting could have ranged over a wide area of the Vale of Berkeley.In 2008, a wrought iron axe, believed to be Viking, was found in a field at Slimbridge.