Publisher's Synopsis
In 2003, archaeologists investigating the proposed route of the Waterford City Bypass on behalf of Ireland's National Roads Authority discovered the remains of a 9th century Viking settlement on the southern bank of the River Suir at Woodstown, County Waterford. The discovery has been hailed as one of the most significant made by Irish archaeologists in modern times. This book is the definitive report on the archaeological excavations undertaken at Woodstown, as it draws together all the existing evidence from the site and places it in its national and international context. About the excavation: the site has significant implications for the understanding of the earliest phases of Viking raiding in Ireland and the establishment of their settlements on the island * it contains one of the most richly furnished Viking warrior burials in Ireland or Britain * Woodstown was an important center for trade and exchange: materials recovered from the site include amber from the Baltic, silver coins from the Near East, and weapons from Scandinavia - reflecting the range of the Viking trading networks in the 9th century * the origins of the vibrant and distinctive Hiberno-Norse culture that developed in Ireland in the following centuries may be traced back to Woodstown and similar sites. [Subject: History, Medieval Studies, Archaeology, Viking Studies, Irish Studies]
