First Irish Viking Ship found in the Boyne River
national |
history and heritage |
other press 
Tuesday January 30, 2007 18:48
by Terence
A chance for the government to destroy it
According to Yahoo News, the first Irish Viking Ship has been found in the Boyne river. This is surely a very important and exciting find.
However given the track record of this government at destroying our heritage, in places like Carrick Mines, Tara, and many others, it would be entirely inconsistent of them to preserve this. Surely it should be sold off to the highest bidder at a minimum or broken up and incorporated somehow into chic-furnishings on a set of apartments overlooking the site.
The details given by the news report on the ship were:
The vessel, nine metres (30 feet) wide by 16 metres long, was discovered accidentally during dredging operations last November but the find was not made public until now.
Other information given regarding the Vikings in Ireland is:
Between 795, when they first raided Rathlin Island off Northern Ireland, and 1169 when the Normans invaded from Wales, Vikings established themselves in Ireland.
Full report at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070126/sc_afp/irelandhist...22912
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2they came to Lambay island first. And they didn't come for the weather either. No. not a bit of it. They came for the uisce beatha and of course not to mention much nor forget entirely - the relaxed corporate tax regime.
What got me was the use of "the". How do we know this is the first Irish Viking Ship? Is it not possible it was a ship made in other Viking territory and sailed to Ireland? in which case it would "a viking ship". & even if it was made in Ireland (surely the experts could check for the well known "guaranteed Irish" logo around the stern) how do we know it was the first? Or did the sloppy users of English over in Yahoo just mean "the first Viking boat to be found in Ireland"?
Because to be quite honest I'm sure a Viking wouldn't have been too snooty or hoity toity to feel himself (or herself) above going for a short paddle or row in a currach. Are we so nationalist that a Viking built, owned and operated short range currach would still be considered an "irish boat"?
Whatever or whichever that boat will be well useless by now. Yiz have a replica on the Liffey. good enuff.
It is incredibly exciting that this has been discovered.
The Wetland Archaeological unit will probably excavate this and they have a vast range of experience behind them.
There is a wealth of knowledge, very fortunately, with regard to excavating Viking Ships, built up particularly in Denmark. They have a fantastic museum at Roskilde and have published quite extensively in English.
An Irish built boat was excavated there in 1962.
"Skuldelev 2 is an ocean-going warship – a longship – possibly of the type known as skeid. With a crew of 70-80 warriors, it must have been the ship of a chieftain, a vessel similar to those whose praise is sung in sagas and scaldic verse. Analyses of annual growth rings in the timber have shown that the ship was built in the vicinity of Dublin about 1042"
Link to the Roskilde Vikingship Museum in Denmark
http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/page.asp?objectid=289&...s=402
English language homepage- it's an excellent website.
http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/default.asp?contentsec...&zcs=
Listen to a number of RTE radio programmes concerning archaeology. Programme 2 is about the Woodstown archaeological complex, a viking settlement site and predates Waterford City.
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/story/1024279.html
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