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the vikings in ireland and beyond
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pathways to our past
(cid:0)
Pathways to our Past is a series of books published by Four Courts press in
association with the royal society of antiquaries of Ireland. Launched in 2011,
the series aims to shed new light on important aspects of Ireland’s past. since its
foundation in 1849, the rsaI has had a long and distinguished record of
promoting learning about the culture and past of Ireland, most consistently in
its annual journal, but also through field survey, the collection of artefacts,
excursions, lectures and occasional publications. over the decades, writing about
our past has progressed from antiquarianism to professionalism, with the result
that many older themes need to be reviewed and reinterpreted. this occasional
series reflects the striking progress that continues to be made both in writing and
in publishing about this island’s distinctive and fascinating past.
Charles Doherty, Linda Doran & Mary Kelly (eds), Glendalough: city of God
(2011)
próinséas Ní Chatháin & siobhán Fitzpatrick, with howard B. Clarke (eds),
Pathfinders to the past: the antiquarian road to Irish historical writing, 1640–1960
(2012)
Mary Kelly & Charles Doherty (eds), Music and the stars: mathematics in
medieval Ireland(2013)
howard B. Clarke & ruth Johnson (eds), The Vikings in Ireland and beyond:
before and after the Battle of Clontarf(2015)
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The Vikings in Ireland and
beyond: before and after the
Battle of Clontarf
Howard B. Clarke and Ruth Johnson
EDITORS
FOUR COURTS PRESS
for the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
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typeset in 10.5 pt on 12.5 pt ehrhardtMtPro by
Carrigboy typesetting services for
FoUr CoUrt s P r e s s ltd
7 Malpas street, dublin 8, ireland
www.fourcourtspress.ie
and in North America for
FoUr CoUrt s P r e s s
c/o isbs, 920 ne 58th avenue, suite 300, Portland, or 97213.
© the various authors and Four Courts Press 2015
a catalogue record for this title is available
from the british library.
ISBN 978-1-84682-495-1 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-84682-924-6 (ebooks)
all rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright
reserved alone, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior
written permission of both the copyright owner and
publisher of this book.
sPeCial aCknoWledgMent
the publishers and editors are grateful to dublin City Council and the royal
society of antiquaries of ireland for their support of this publication.
Printed in spain
by Castuera, Pamplona
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viking dUblin: trial PieCes
i
it could be a jaw-bone
or a rib or a portion cut
from something sturdier:
anyhow, a small outline
was incised, a cage
or trellis to conjure in.
like a child’s tongue
following the toils
of his calligraphy,
like an eel swallowed
in a basket of eels,
the line amazes itself
eluding the hand
that fed it,
a bill in flight,
a swimming nostril.
v
Come fly with me,
come sniff the wind
with the expertise
of the vikings –
neighbourly, scoretaking
killers, haggers
and hagglers, gombeen-men,
hoarders of grudges and gain.
With a butcher’s aplomb
they spread out your lungs
and made you warm wings
for your shoulders.
old fathers, be with us.
old cunning assessors
of feuds and of sites
for ambush or town.
seaMUs heaney
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in memoriam richard hall (1949–2011)
richard hall at york, 2005 (photograph courtesy of
ailsa Mainman of york archaeological trust).
the ‘beyond’ of the title of this volume includes the neighbouring island of
britain and the editors have thought it appropriate to dedicate this work to the
memory of a major scholar whose interests and vision spanned both islands, just
as, in the viking age itself, dublin and york were linked in intricate and
somewhat mysterious ways.
richard hall, born in ilford, essex, in 1949, moved to belfast where he
became interested in the past. From the royal belfast academical institution, he
progressed to Queen’s University belfast, where his interests focused on anglo-
saxon and viking archaeology, leading to an undergraduate study ofviking finds
in ireland. then his doctorate, from the University of southampton, was
awarded for a thesis on the danelaw in england. like so many vikings long
before, richard moved easily and productively from one island to another.
vii
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viii In memoriam Richard Hall
Moving to york in 1974, richard joined the york archaeological trust as an
excavations supervisor, his first professional appointment, progressing rapidly
to deputy director and ultimately director of archaeology (1974–2011). one of
the notable highlights of richard’s career came in 1976 when he led the
excavations at Coppergate, discovering the well-preserved remains of viking-age
wooden houses and tenth-century artefacts from industrial and domestic life in
the heart of york.
richard was instrumental in providing the public with access to the site by
innovative viewing points where the work could be seen, his philosophy being
that york’s viking past was not exclusively the preserve of academics but
belonged to the people of york. this gave the york archaeological trust a
mission – that of recognizing the exceptional importance of york’s historic
environment, in order to provide and promote archaeology of the highest
possible standards in the city, its region and beyond. From this came the birth
of the Jorvik viking Centre in 1984, which, over the years, has informed and
entertained millions of visitors. richard, along with his co-workers, published a
series of reports on the Coppergate excavations and also went on to write
numerous books about the vikings and their world, such asExploring the world
of the Vikings(2007).
richard hall’s expertise was drawn upon by many international excavations,
especially of viking sites in scandinavia, among them a major dig in 2001 at
kaupang – the early viking-age port in norway – where archaeological evidence
revealed that the vikings had abandoned the area in the mid-ninth century,
raising the possibility that york had been settled by vikings from the kaupang
area. among many positions of distinction he was a british representative on the
viking Congress, was active in the lübeck international Urban archaeology
symposium and served as a consultant to archaeological research and heritage
projects in scotland, ireland and norway, and for UnesCo in germany.
the world of richard hall was in numerous ways the world of the vikings, at
least in western europe. his exemplary scholarship, personal dedication and
willingness to reach out beyond will long be remembered with heart-felt
appreciation. the editors would like to think that he might have come to
appreciate in his turn the contents of this volume.
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Contents
ForeWord by Owen Keegan, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council xii
list oF illUstrations xiv
list oF abbreviations xvii
list oF ContribUtors xix
aCknoWledgMents xxv
PreFaCe by Rachel Moss and Charles Doherty, present and former RSAI
presidents xxvii
Part i. in ProsPeCt
1 ireland and the viking age 1
Howard B. Clarke and Ruth Johnson
Part ii. beFore the battle
2 Written sources for pre-Christian sanctuaries in northern europe 25
Signe Horn Fuglesang
3 the first generation in ireland, 795–812: viking raids and viking
bases? 41
Emer Purcell
4 thelongphortin viking-age ireland: the archaeological evidence 55
Eamonn P. Kelly
5 viking camps and the means of exchange in britain and ireland
in the ninth century 93
Gareth Williams
6 vikings at annagassan: the evidence of the annals and the wider
context 117
Colmán Etchingham
7 a viking warrior grave from dublin 129
Linzi Simpson
ix
