Like York, the Upper City seems to have been given over to purely administrative functions up to 850 or so, while the Lower City, running down the hill towards the River Witham, may have been largely deserted.
V vikinških časih je bil Lincoln trgovsko središče, ki je izdelovalo kovance v lastni kovnici, daleč najpomembnejše v Lincolnshire in do konca 10. stoletja primerljiv s kovnico v Yorku.