Strolling along the streets of York, you are mindful of the past beneath the pavements.

Indicative of the city’s remarkable history under-foot is the Jorvik Viking Museum – one of York’s popular visitor attractions.

Millions of visitors have embarked on this educational expedition since the museum launched 29 years ago and for those with a penchant for history, and archaeology, Jorvik offers wide-ranging appeal, hence the often lengthy queues.

Swiftly moving along the line, we discover lives that existed hundreds of years ago with audio displays and visual presentations in the presence of our Viking hosts.

Climbing into our ‘time machine’ for the initial ride-round tour we set off, taking in the sights and smells – more pungent than aromatic – creating the ambiance and giving us a real insight into the time when these Scandinavian sea-borne warriors inhabited this city.

The five-and-a-half-year excavation of Coppergate, known as ‘The Viking Dig’ led to the location of the museum as a permanent display of the remnants of the Viking’s lives.

Houses dating back 1,000 years and objects unearthed during excavations are showcased for visitors to view. Interaction between the original Norse-speaking characters, the builders, blacksmiths and wood turner, we come across on our travels not only entertained our eight-year-old daughter Katy, but educationally they put into perspective what life was really like.

Spotting the leather seller on a stall, it is hard for a child to comprehend they made their own shoes and that their clothes were fabric fashioned like robes rather than the styles and outfits we buy off the peg today.

It was basic living, but what struck us the most was how self-sufficient the Vikings were. They had to be.

Briefly there was a glitch with the ‘time travelling machine’ during our tour which led to us sitting for a few moments while we waited for our journey to continue. As we sat pondering, it gave us chance to see the wattle and daub method used in construction 1,000 years ago.

Despite the unexpected interlude, it was a fascinating tour and insightful too, but our journey, as we discovered when we disembarked from our ‘time machine’, was far from over.

Galleries of interactive displays reveal fascinating facts about the Vikings and their presence here. The availability of artefacts for us to browse today is the legacy of the painstaking work carried out between 1976 and 1981 by the archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust, which revealed houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city of Jorvik as it stood nearly 1,000 years ago, and which led to the development of the impressive Jorvik Viking Centre.

Behind glass cabinets in the Artefacts Alive Gallery sit artefacts, items of jewellery and dress pieces, uncovered during the dig. Dress pins with ornamental and decorative heads used to fasten garments, disc brooches fashioned from copper alloy, lead alloy or a mixture of metals, finger rings, bracelets and pendants carved from bone, antler, ivory, amber, glass, jet and silver are among the showcased objects.

Special conservation techniques are used to make the pieces look as perfect as possible without compromising their integrity.

Interestingly, the display cases have also been specially designed to control the conditions within the display. For example, the fibre-optic lighting in the cases doesn’t emit any heat or harmful UV radiation. Sensors have also been installed to monitor the temperature.

Visitors also have the opportunity to meet a Viking-age resident striking coins – demonstrating how coins were minted 1,000 years ago. These, along with the skeletal remains showcased here all paint an interesting picture of the Viking’s lives.

‘Investigate Coppergate’ delves deeper into findings from the skeletal remains of a man and woman unearthed at the Coppergate dig, giving visitors a deeper insight into the diseases and afflictions Vikings suffered, what they ate and even what she looked like.

Perhaps the most perturbing sights is the faeces, giving archaeologists an insight into the Viking diet. A study using oxygen isotope analysis of the bone collagen is discussed in the exhibition, revealing the main diet of the people of Coppergate.

Skeletal remains with the blows and abrasions labelled within the final gallery – The End Of The Vikings – reveal the brutality of battle and the fatal scars the Vikings suffered during combat.

For those who enjoy delving into the past and learning about how folk from bygone times lived, this is the perfect place to visit.