The Danes were clearly not going to be caught without adequate defences and by 876, they had restored the walls.

These references appear to indicate that parts of the Roman defences were still standing before 876. The Danes captured the city from the local aristocracy who had let the all-important walls falls into disrepair.

It's not clear what the Danes built. It has been suggested that they enclosed the entire area between the Rivers Ouse and Foss. And that they covered the Roman walls with a broad earth embankment crowned with a timber fence and that this extended down to the Ouse and Foss. However, there is little archaeological evidence to support this.

It has also been suggested that the south-west gate of the fortress survived within this Danish defensive circuit and formed part of a Danish royal palace. This area is now called Kings Square. This palace might have been used by the legendary Erik Bloodaxe, King of York in 948.

In fact, what happened to the defences between this time and the arrival of William I in York in 1068 is shrouded in mystery.

We do know, however, that York experienced an urban redevelopment building boom between 1066 and 1068. This was not repeated until the Victorian period and the arrival of the railways.