It has been described as one of the most significant turning points in British history, marking not only the moment an English identity was born, but also helping create a Scottish one.
But the Battle of Brunanburh, fought between armies from the two nations in 937, remains all but unknown to many, not least because no such place now exists, meaning the location has, for centuries, been unknown.
Now, ahead of this year’s Scottish referendum on independence, experts hope to address that issue and settle the historical arguments which have been raging on the issue once and for all, by identifying the whereabouts for the bloody clash between the two nations.
A major historical review is to be launched, evaluating the more than 40 sites which have been put forward for the scene of the action, ranging from Devon to Merseyside and the Scottish borders area.
It is to be conducted, for the Battlefields Trust, by Dr Matthew Bennett, a medieval history expert at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and the research will then be presented at a symposium, at which the most likely site will be identified.
