In the Irish settlement of Glasnevin, just north of Viking Dublin, a mixed hoard of circa 927 contained coins with Arabic inscriptions indicating trade with countries from the Middle East. This clearly represents the wealth of the Vikings in Ireland and was fostered by the establishment of the towns. Nowadays, upwards of 120 Viking-age coin, silver and gold hoards are known from Ireland 14. Moreover, the large amounts of silver entering indigenous Ireland strongly indicates the important role of trading. There is plenty of archaeological evidence revealing the extent of Viking Dublin´s activities as a manufacturing and trading centre 12.Īn analysis of the grave-goods found with burials in the Dublin area demonstrates a “surprisingly high proportion of grave-goods associated with trading 13 ”.Weights and scales excavated at Kilmainham and Islandbridge seem to be indicators for trading. Some archaeologists suggest that the early Viking houses and features represent a settlement associated with a longphort nearby.Īlthough it is still uncertain where the longphort was located, it is certain that “Dublin was by far the largest and most important trading and population centre within Ireland for the period 11. Excavations at Temple Bar West in Dublin revealed fifteen Viking structures which have been dated to the late ninth and the early tenth century.
While some scholars argue that it was probably located on a naturally defensible ground where Dublin Castle is sited, the possibility of a longphort close to Islandbridge/Kilmainham, where two important Viking cemeteries representing élite groups have been found in the nineteenth century, provides a considerable alternative 10. There are various theories where the longphort has been. According to Ruth Johnson, the Vikings, with their new fixed-base status, changed their strategies from the raiding of monasteries to participation in Irish politics and trading with other Vikingdominated harbours 9. The annals recorded the establishment of of a longphort 7, which is an Irish term for a naval or a ship encampment, by the Norse in 841 on the river Liffey at Dublin 8. Although some scholars argue that large monasteries like Durrow and Clonmacnoise could be seen as a kind of Irish proto-towns, it is not clear “whether they would eventually have achieved urban status without the Viking intervention 6 ”. In pre-Viking Ireland, there haven´t been any towns and education mainly took place in important monasteries 5. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss and assess the archaeological evidence which appears to support this position.Īccording to the archaeologist Nancy Edwards, “the greatest achievement of the Vikings in Ireland was the foundation of the coastal towns 4 ” Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford and Cork.
However, many scholars nowadays believe that, on the whole, the Vikings had a positive effect on Irish society. Therefore, the reliability of these sources is doubtful and they have to be interpreted critically and very carefully. This depiction of the invaders, mostly from Norway and later also from Denmark, seems to be based on sources from monasteries which had been the main targets of the Scandinavians during the first period of raids, approximately between 795 and 840 3. Such a negative perception of the Viking Age, about 7, correlates with the assertion uttered by historians in the past that “the effect of the Viking invasions on Irish society was catastrophic 2 ”.
“The term Viking conjures up for most Irish people bands of marauders and robbers who plundered Irish monasteries and churches, causing widespread destruction and terror (…) 1 “.
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