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A viking settlement found in Ireland very well preserved:http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/story.asp?j=14729
I think Ireland has a lot to offer archeologically. The Vikings may not have infiltrated that island as bad as Britain but I'll bet a lot more is preserved there.
I think that peat preserves things quite well. Given the plethora of it in Ireland, the country's lands may be fertile ground for archaeological finds in the future.
I think Ireland has a lot to offer archeologically. The Vikings may not have infiltrated that island as bad as Britain.
Actually they did. They became kings in Dublin, Leinster and other cities, and assimilated with the native Irish. The Battle of Clontarf changed all that and eventually the Norman invasion changed everything.http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS211US211&q=vikings+in+irelandI think the mythology of all this is kind of fascinating too. There's a story about an unsuccessful viking invasion where they had to circle the island 9 times because of some "force field" that was preventing them from going ashore. When they finally landed, the attacking vikings were demolished (according to folklore)
The Vikings had a greater hold in Britain, but I guess that all depends on who you are calling Vikings. The Danes eventually controlled neary a third of Britain under Danelaw, most of the Orkneys and Shetland Islands where under Scandinavian rule for a long time. The Vikings did have their cities in Ireland and Clontarf was the beginning of the end of their rule there. Ireland was able to kick most of them out. Britain assimilated them, hence Anglo-Saxons.
The Vikings had a greater hold in Britain, but I guess that all depends on who you are calling Vikings.
Why do you say that? Who would you call Vikings? I'm just assuming any invader from the Scandinavian countries were considered Vikings. Would that be incorrect?
I have seen the Danes not referred to as Vikings. My reference being inregards to their migration to Britain and setting up Danelaw.
I think, but may be incorrect that only those Norsemen from present day Norway and Sweden were actually called Vikings. I believe that the Danes were always called by their national name, as well as the Normans. Normandy is named for the Normans who settled there, not the other way around. It is only in later histories that Viking became a catch-all term for any early medieval Scandinavian Raiders.
Ah, I think you guys are correct. This link says the Viking invasion of Ireland came from Norway.
Viking Scotland, known as Lothlend, Laithlinn, Lochlainn and comprising the Northern and Western Isles and parts of the mainland, especially Caithness, Sutherland and Inverness, was settled by Norwegian Vikings in the early ninth century. By the mid-century it was ruled by an effective royal dynasty that was not connected to Norwegian Vestfold. In the second half of the century it made Dublin its headquarters, engaged in warfare with Irish kings, controlled most Viking activity in Ireland, and imposed its overlordship and its tribute on Pictland and Strathclyde. When expelled from Dublin in 902 it returned to Scotland and from there it conquered York and re-founded the kingdom of Dublin in 917.
Although, I don't really understand that part I put in bold. ???
