Viking Arrival, Temporary Encampments, and Root to Settlement:

Early Settlements of the Vikings: Temporary Forts, Raiding, and Track to Permanent Settlement

The Vikings first arrived on Irish shores by sea around 795 AD to raid Irish monasteries and towns (Corpus, U795.3). This initial Viking attack on Ireland quickly evolved into a series of planned hit-and-run raids along the coast of Ireland where they plundered monasteries and villages for coin, valuables, relics, and slaves (Clarke and Johnson 41). These attacks were conducted in rapid succession with the Vikings sudden entrance from the sea, rapid plundering, and a quick escape through sea channels (Clarke and Johnson 41). According to witness accounts from the annals or monasteries these specific fast-paced raids were maintained until roughly 836CE, and it was believed that the Vikings had established temporary bases on scattered islands in the Irish Sea (Clarke and Johnson 41). However, around 840CE these raiding techniques began to change as the Vikings started to establish what is referred to as longphort or “forts” that served as bases for fleets to allow repetitive raiding (Clarke and Johnson 55).

Historians believe the first longphort was constructed in 840 at Lough Neagh and later spread to the well-known Viking center of Dublin (Clarke and Johnson 55). The Vikings specifically chose plots for forts that granted them natural defense from terrain to prevent the requirement of large-scale construction (Clarke and Johnson 57). Naturally, these findings imply that early Viking longphorts contained minimal housing/shelter construction, land for agriculture, and man-made fortifications. Instead, these forts initially only served the purpose of camping between attacks and not for the purpose of complete settlement. However, over time temporary Viking forts began to evolve into permanent settlements shortly after the Vikings arrived and historians deem the first Viking settlement to be located just south of Dublin Castle (Clarke and Johnson 325). These settlements would soon spread to cover more locations in Leinster, Munster, and even parts of Connacht as the Vikings continued to supplant themselves in Ireland. Archaeological excavations launched during the late 1900’s have uncovered many of these Viking settlements and found homesteads, workhouses, and farmsteads. Below is Figure 1-2 that reveal the location of these settlements across Leinster, Munster, and Connacht along with the number of Viking homes uncovered by archaeologists.

Uncovered Permanent Viking Settlements in Ireland: Lisnaran and Dublin

Viking Settlement: Lisnaran Fort

In 827 AD Vikings arrived on the coast of County Lough in Leinster and engaged in hit-and-run raids against the local monasteries and townships in the immediate area before retreating out to sea (McKeown 74). Just five years later in 832 AD the Viking group known as the Fingail were attracted by the monastery of Linn Duachaill and created a temporary encampment upon the nearby territory of Annagassan (McKeown 74). This island presented a raised topography enclosed by water which proved to be naturally defensive for the Viking settlers as they repetitively raided Linn Duachaill and other nearby monasteries (McKeown 70). This evidence reveals the pre-permanent settlement habits of the Vikings in Ireland through the utilization of naturally advantageous land that allowed for access to the sea for repetitive raiding and less worry of Gaelic retaliation.

However, in 841 AD a new development in the Annagassan territory began as the Fingail Viking settlers made additions to the topography of the island and constructed a man-made mound, titled the Lisnaran Fort (McKeown 70). Also, the Fingail settlers dug a man-made canal that caused the central river to bisect and allowed for roughly sixty Viking longships to gather and rest before traveling upriver and out to sea (McKeown 70, 75). These man-made additions to the natural defenses of the Annagassan territory display an immediate departure from the Vikings temporary settlement habits. Fortification and canal construction insinuate a move towards a static settlement and a divergence from the Vikings past habits of quick attacks through sea and river routes and returning to land for rest. This is only supplemented by further archaeological evidence that reveals the construction of workhouses and craft specialization, specifically designed for ship construction, repair, and loading and unloading of cargo and booty (McKeown 70). This reveals the Lisnaran Fort as a permanent settlement that held the key purpose of housing, repairing, loading ships before sea departure, or raiding ventures, and thus serves as evidence towards the Vikings attempt at creating permanent/key forts within the Irish territory. This fort existed simultaneously with Gaelic territories and monasteries for nearly a decade and insulated the clashing of Hiberno-Scandinavian and Gaelic cultures as the Vikings sought to supplant themselves in Ireland. See Figure C below for Thomas Wright’s reconstruction of the Annagassan territory during the settlement of the Fingail Vikings in 841. Figure D depicts the outline and measurements of the Lisnaran Fort.

 

Viking Settlement of Dublin:

According to the historical record Dublin was crafted around 841 AD, similar to the longfort of Annagassan, and served as a major political and economic urban center for the Vikings as they moved to establish a permanent settlement in Ireland. The Viking town even developed into a kingdom for the Scandinavian settlers and was initially led under the Scandinavian king Ivar, but not long after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, the Vikings political authority over the Dublin territory declined significantly as the Vikings slowly faded from Irish history. Regardless of its inevitable decline, the Viking city of Dublin went down as one of the longest-lasting, expansive, and most powerful Viking settlements. As it will be expressed throughout this website, the archaeological evidence and written records surrounding Viking Dublin will reveal the formation of tight political, social, and economic ties between the Gaelic and Scandinavians, and thus express how the Vikings peacefully interacted and coexisted with Irish natives.

Over time the settlement of Dublin sank into Ireland’s sediments that the locals refer to as “bogs.” After accidently stumbling upon the preserved ancient city through a commercial dig, archaeologists quickly jumped to excavate the city that was lost to time underneath the streets of Dublin. Archaeological excavations of the sunken Dublin were launched around 1961-1962 in and around Dublin Castle, and the findings proved to be both extensive and informative (Simpson 33). Underneath Modern Dublin archaeologists located pits, houses, pathways, and outhouses, but perhaps most importantly this town was encircled by a man-made wall (Simpson 33). This walled city of Dublin indicates the major shift in Viking occupation of Ireland; no longer were campus natural fortifications for repetitive attacks, but rather cities like Dublin served as secluded locations of agricultural settlement (Paor 143). Ancient Dublin evolved into a crowded Viking center where agriculture and craft specialization took place, but more importantly, displays evidence of Viking and Gaelic settlements existing simultaneously. Figure 5 Below is a reconstruction of the Viking town of Dublin.