Roy Porter, who oversees Battle Abbey and the Hastings battlefield for English Heritage, said Licence’s work showed the “immense” value of testing received wisdom.
He said: “It’s exciting to consider that Harold’s response may have been far more sophisticated than previously understood, and William’s awareness of this may have informed when he chose to fight.”
At the British Museum, Prof Michael Lewis, curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition, said Licence had come up with a “fascinating discovery”, that Harold took “an easier, more logical, trip south by ship to meet Duke William in battle”.
He said he hoped it would inspire people to see the Bayeux Tapestry while it is in London.
The 70m-long embroidery, external, widely believed to have been created in Kent, goes on display in September.