The Graves of Viking Nobles in Dublin Between 841 and 902
The Vikings founded a longphort at Dublin on the River Liffey in the ninth century. The naval base became a flourishing town and a centre of trade in the Irish Sea region.
The Norse colonists buried the warrior nobility according to the pagan customs of their Scandinavian homeland. The grave goods of the Viking nobles reflect the lifestyle of the Norse colonists at Dublin between the ninth and tenth centuries.
The Viking sea-king, Turgesius, built a longphort at “Dubh Linn” near the River Liffey in 841. The longphort, or “ship camp” became the foremost Norse colony in Ireland.
Amlaíb Conung, or Olaf the White, took possession of the longphort after proclaiming himself king of all the Norse in Ireland in 853. He made Dublin his stronghold.
Olaf the White and his brother, Ivar the Boneless, ruled over a vast territory in the Irish Sea region. They were the overlords of Dublin, York, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Norse colonies in western Scotland.
The graves of the warrior nobles at Kilmainham-Islandbridge near the River Liffey provided archaeologists with information about the culture at Dublin in the ninth century.
The two Viking cemeteries at Kilmainham-Islandbridge contain 59 graves dating to between 841 and 902. The graveyard is the largest Viking burial ground in Western Europe.
The graves at Kilmainham-Islandbridge varied considerably.
The Norse buried a Scandinavian warrior in a shallow grave at War Memorial Park in Islandbridge in the ninth century. Experts believe the warrior was between 18 and 25 years of age. His only possessions were a sword and spearhead.
Several Viking nobles at South Great George’s Street in Dublin were of non-Scandinavian origin. The warriors were between 17 and 29 years of age. They sailed to the longphort from a Norse colony in the Scottish Isles or mainland Britain.
The Vikings from Scandinavia and the Norse colonies moored their fleets at the longphort in Dublin in the ninth century. The Norse-Gael warriors from Scotland died during a brief stopover at the naval base.
The Norse-Gael warriors were among four Viking burials at South Great George’s Street. They received the same pagan funerary rites as their Scandinavian companions.
The richly furnished graves at South Great George’s Street contained swords, daggers, shield bosses, combs and ring pins.
The Vikings fought battles against the Gaelic kings at Islandbridge in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Irish chroniclers lamented the death of Niall Glúndub, the High King of Ireland, at the Battle of Islandbridge in 919.
The scant possessions of some of the Viking nobles inferred they died on the battlefield. Their comrades buried them near the site according to the funerary rites of Scandinavia.
The remains of a young female beneath the bare rock was among the graves of three women from the longphort at Dublin.
A pair of Scandinavian brooches adorned the body of a Viking noblewoman at Kilmainham in the ninth century. A necklace made of glass beads also accompanied her soul to the afterlife.
The Kilmainham Brooch from a Norse cemetery displayed a combination of Celtic and Viking art in the ninth century. The brooch is of Celtic origin and made from silver only available in the Viking Age.
A Viking noble commissioned local craftsmen to fashion the brooch. The contact between the colonists at Dublin and Irish communities allowed the Norse to assimilate quickly into Gaelic culture.
The oval brooches, spindles and needle cases confirmed some Viking nobles brought their Scandinavian wives to the longphort at Dublin.
Archaeologists believe the swords, shield bosses, arrowheads and axe-heads were also manufactured locally. The slight differences in the design suggested the Norse at Dublin were influenced by local Gaelic settlements in the ninth century.
The scales and weight in the Viking graves suggested warriors traded extensively at the longphort. They sold slaves and the booty taken during raids on the monasteries and settlements of the Gaels in eastern Ireland. The scales measured the silver exchanged during their transactions.
The Viking graves in other parts of Ireland do not contain scales or weights. Their presence at Kilmainham-Islandbridge affirmed the longphort at Dublin was a major centre of trade in the ninth century.
The cow and bull at a gravesite suggested the Norse performed animal sacrifices to their pagan gods during the funerary rites. The ceremonial destruction of the swords and weapons of the Viking warriors was in keeping with the Scandinavian customs of the time.
The tongs, hammers and purses at Kilmainham-Islandbridge indicated the Viking nobles at the longphort earned their living as merchants, blacksmiths and artisans. The artefacts suggested some of the Norse colonists abandoned raiding and opted for a more peaceful lifestyle at the longphort.
The evidence gathered from the graves at Kilmainham-Islandbridge confirmed Dublin was a flourishing Viking community between 841 and 902. The majority of the colonists at Dublin were Norwegians.
The longphort transformed into a town following an influx of young Scandinavian warriors during the reign of Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless.
The Vikings who joined the settlement were young men and women from Scandinavia and the Norse colonies in the Irish Sea region.
The nobles prospered as merchants and craftsmen. They lived peacefully with their Irish neighbours and intermarried with local Gaelic communities.
Dublin became a major centre of trade in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Norse colonists grew wealth through their extensive contacts with merchants in Scandinavia, the Scottish Isles, Britain and Europe.
The vibrant Norse community came to an end when Cerball mac Muirecáin King of Leinster and Máel Findia mac Flannacáin King of Brega attacked Dublin in 902. The Gaelic kings massacred the Vikings in the town. The survivors escaped to their kinsmen in the Norse colonies of Britain and Europe.
The early Viking history of Ireland is discussed in:
Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless - The Viking Kings of Dublin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916GJ3B2
And Vikings in Ireland (870 - 914): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096KVNBZK
References
Irish Times - The Vikings beneath modern Dublin by Anthony King: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/the-vikings-beneath-modern-dublin-1.1867504
Wikipedia - Niall Glúndub: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Gl%C3%BAndub
Trinity College Dublin- First genome sequences of Irish Vikings reveal ties to Norway and interactions with the locals: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/first-genome-sequences-of-irish-vikings-reveal-ties-to-norway-and-interactions-with-the-locals/
Archaeology - The Vikings in Ireland by Roger Atwood: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/168-1503/features/2969-ireland-dublin-early-viking-prescence
Historical Dictionary of the Vikings By Katherine Holman: https://books.google.ie/books?id=NL4FAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=meaning+of+scales+found+in+viking+graves+at+Kilmainham-Islandbridge&source=bl&ots=iTXOmo0xgV&sig=ACfU3U2Tm-WOfEghmqruZWl_xzdw3N8oSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZ8emc9Jz0AhVJTcAKHSI8CZkQ6AF6BAgkEAM#v=onepage&q=meaning%20of%20scales%20found%20in%20viking%20graves%20at%20Kilmainham-Islandbridge&f=true
Metropolitan Museum - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/463150
National Museum of Ireland - The Viking Age in Ireland: https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Irish-Antiquities-Division-Collections/Collections-List-(1)/Viking/The-Viking-Age-in-Ireland
Cora UCC - Preliminary report on aViking warrior grave at War Memorial Park, Islandbridge by MAEVE SIKORA, BARRA Ó DONNABHÁIN A N D NIAMH DALY:
Irish Archaeology - Dublin’s Viking warrior burials by Colm Moriarty: http://irisharchaeology.ie/2011/06/dublins-viking-warrior-burials/
Twitter - Irish Archaeology: https://twitter.com/irarchaeology/status/1238484417049485313
Abroad in the Yard - Fifteen-year research project to reveal new truths about Viking Dublin by Lee Rimmer: https://www.abroadintheyard.com/fifteen-year-research-project-to-reveal-new-truths-about-viking-dublin/
Wikipedia - Kilmainham Brooch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmainham_Brooch
Metropolitan Museum - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/463150
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