THE Vikings might have lost the first Battle of Brunanburh, but they have had more than a thousand years to brush up on their fighting skills.

The re-enactment 1,061 years on at the Eye of York was a chance to settle the score.

Hundreds of battle fans gathered at Clifford's Tower on Saturday to watch the re-run of the historic event.

First time around in 937AD, the Anglo Saxons defeated the Vikings to claim Northumberland and sovereignty over England.

But after 30 minutes of chain-mail clashing and sword thrashing in front of the Castle Museum on Saturday afternoon, they settled for a draw.

The colourful combat was part of the programme of events for the last day of the 13th annual Jorvik Viking Festival.

Journalists and camera crews from across the world had converged on the city to record the week's events.

Festival spokesperson Samantha Orange said the festival seemed to get bigger and better each year.

She said: "We have had the best festival for a few years. It has been fantastic and the weather has helped as well. Everything has been really well-attended."

She said the festival's international reputation had also grown. "There are film crews here from Czechoslovakia, Germany and France and there has been coverage in newspapers in Japan and Australia.

"In York, perhaps, we don't realise how much of a profile it has world wide." A film crew from the Disney Channel was also in York to cover the festival for a children's programme.

Meanwhile, the Danelaw Dark Age Village, at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton, was opening a new longhouse.

The 45ft by 20ft rectangular timber barn, complete with thatched roof, is now the focal point of the centre, which gives visitors a taste of what life was like in Viking times.

Project manager Dave Thirlwall says the longhouse will allow more people than ever to enjoy the educational experience offered by the centre.

He said: "The village is going from strength to strength.

"We have already opened our diary for the year 2000.

"Most Viking settlements had a central big building, a longhouse or hall, so we decided to build this large rectangular building."

Mr Thirlwall is quick to point out that the centre is not an authentic replica of a Viking village, but rather a base to explore the realities of Viking life.

Animals like wild boar and chickens are kept for visitors to work with, as is a working loom and giant fireplace, where children and adults can weave and make bread.

The new building, which cost only £1,000 to construct, means the centre can operate in all weathers as the longhouse can hold up to 60 children.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.