In 873/4 the Danish Great Heathen Army overwintered at Repton , one of only a few places in England where a winter camp has been located , identified by a mass grave of some 250 individuals , covered by the kerb stone of its former cairn .
In 873/4 the Danish Great Heathen Army overwintered at Repton , one of only a few places in England where a winter camp has been located . 
 Excavations from 1974 to 1988 found their D - shaped earthwork on the river bank and identified a mass grave of some 250 individuals , covered by the kerb stone of its former cairn .