A tiny County Louth village has been confirmed as home to one of the most important Viking sites in the world.
Carbon testing on trenches at a ‘virgin’ site in Annagassan have revealed that the small rural community once housed a Viking winter base, one of only two in Ireland.
The other went on to become Dublin but the Annagassan site, 50 miles north of the capital, was believed to be the stuff of mythology and folklore until now.
Geophysical tests funded by Dundalk’s County Museum have allowed scientists to make the big breakthrough.
They have now confirmed that the Linn Duchaill site, beside the river Glyde and south of Dundalk Bay, was where the Vikings brought their long ships or longphorts to be repaired.
It was also the base for inland raids as far as Longford and north to Armagh.
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Although eventually abandoned as a port due to poor tides and a shallow bay, Linn Duachaill was also a large trading town as the Vikings exported Irish slaves and looted goods.
Experts have been blown away by the find on farmland in the small village.
Louth County Museum curator Brian Walsh told the Irish Examiner: “This site is mind-blowing. It is untouched, there is no motorway going through it and it is basically virgin territory. It has been husbanded and farmed for the last few hundred years and is unspoilt.
“It is one of the most important sites of its kind in the world, not just Europe.”
Dr Ned Kelly, keeper of antiquities at the National Museum, has also spoken of the importance of the Louth discovery.
“This site is intact; it has not been trashed by a road and is a greenfield site,” said Dr Kelly.
“Linn Duachaill is enormously important because it is of the very earliest period of Viking settlement in Ireland. It was founded in 841 and the Annals of Ulster tell us it was used over the next 50 years continuously.
“Radio-carbon dating has conclusively shown we are dealing with a site of early Viking age. It is exactly what we thought it was and it is of such significance that an international conference is being held to discuss it.”
Artifacts from the site are to go on display at a conference in Dundalk later this month.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.cynicus | Oct 13, 2011, 02:20 PM EDT
Hi, Aw, shucks; these Viking guys were only the overspill from the nearby County Meath! Sure, the Meath boys always were generous to smaller folks! (Well, Gaelic football excepted!). I mean. some things you just can't give away!
ballyhip | Oct 12, 2011, 12:11 PM EDT
Hey, I've got a great idea! Let's tear up the land then build a municipal building on it.
Towngate | Oct 12, 2011, 05:49 AM EDT
jacers! Brilliant! - me life on yeh!
tankcommander | Oct 11, 2011, 10:09 PM EDT
great find.establishes further the link between vikings and celts.
jacersagain | Oct 11, 2011, 04:59 PM EDT
The astounding thing about this discovery is that there are no minerals found. The Russians dug 500 feet under their soil, found copper wires and claimed that their ancient ancestors had the telephone before anyone else. Firing back, and not to be outdone, America dug 1000 feet deep, found silica and claimed their older ancestors already had advanced high tech digital telephones. The Irish dug 1500 deep, found nothing and concluded their ancestors were already using wireless technology.
cailinahaon | Oct 11, 2011, 08:32 AM EDT
Brilliant news for the my wee county. Keep us updated. I hope this gives a boost to tourisim in the area.
CitizenWhy | Oct 10, 2011, 04:10 PM EDT
Bring on those Scandinavian tourists!
KerryLKing | Oct 10, 2011, 01:25 PM EDT
This is great news. Hopefully we'll hear more of it. After having visited Ireland so many times, I imagine that there are so many more sites to be found there. Just from what I've seen driving around all of Ireland....this report doesn't surprise me at all.....it's such a wonderful, historic land!!!
ellenred | Oct 10, 2011, 01:18 PM EDT
This is an amazing discovery. I can't wait to hear more details.
citizen69 | Oct 10, 2011, 12:08 PM EDT
excellent, let's hope there are lots of exciting finds just waiting to be discovered.
Nearly Normal | Oct 10, 2011, 12:07 PM EDT
Wow, what an event for this little village. My cousins live near there and have taken me to the pub there for dinner when I visit Ireland. I do hope this gives the area a boost in the economy. I hope I can visit the digs when I go back next year.
joan1954 | Oct 10, 2011, 11:31 AM EDT
Brilliant news and a great boost for Ireland in an era of uncertainty.
Murph46 | Oct 10, 2011, 11:10 AM EDT
Awesome -Keep up on reporting of findings at site!
mcdolan | Oct 10, 2011, 09:36 AM EDT
Wonderful news - keep us updated, please.
Chieftain | Oct 10, 2011, 08:43 AM EDT
Brilliant find!
antoman | Oct 10, 2011, 08:06 AM EDT
Fascinating find.