Post by Requiem on Aug 20, 2004 22:46:41 GMT -5
Aug 20 2004
DUBLIN (AFP) - A Viking body, believed to be that of a woman who was buried 1,100 years ago, has been discovered at an undisclosed site north of Dublin, Ireland's National Museum said.
The find has been described as "exciting" and "significant" by the museum.
Archaeological excavation of the remains also led to the discovery of a bronze oval brooch, an unusually long bone comb and other copper alloy ornaments.
"The brooch is of Scandinavian manufacture and is dated to the early Viking Age -- the later ninth century," the museum said in a statement.
"This is a very significant discovery as relatively few such brooches of this type have been uncovered in Ireland, and most importantly it is the first find of an oval brooch for a century."
The human remains have not yet been analysed closely but the type of brooch uncovered has been almost exclusively associated with female burials in the past.
"This individual was buried according to pagan rites, which were brought with the Scandinavians when they came to Ireland," the statement added.
The first recorded Viking activity in Ireland is from 795, while the earliest sign of such settlement in Dublin comes in the ninth century.
Maeve Sikora, of the museum's Irish Antiquities Division, said the discovery was made close to a medieval church north of Dublin that was being excavated under government licence prior to development of the site.
Extensive road and building works throughout Ireland are leading to the discovery of many ancient artifacts.
Five months ago, archaeologists discovered a major Viking military settlement, or longphort, at Woodstown on the River Suir in the southeast of Ireland.
The find was made during excavations in advance of a planned road by-pass for the nearby city of Waterford, that, like most of Ireland's main coastal cities, including Dublin, first began as a Viking settlement.
SOURCE w/ more links : news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040820/sc_afp/ireland_history_vikings
DUBLIN (AFP) - A Viking body, believed to be that of a woman who was buried 1,100 years ago, has been discovered at an undisclosed site north of Dublin, Ireland's National Museum said.
The find has been described as "exciting" and "significant" by the museum.
Archaeological excavation of the remains also led to the discovery of a bronze oval brooch, an unusually long bone comb and other copper alloy ornaments.
"The brooch is of Scandinavian manufacture and is dated to the early Viking Age -- the later ninth century," the museum said in a statement.
"This is a very significant discovery as relatively few such brooches of this type have been uncovered in Ireland, and most importantly it is the first find of an oval brooch for a century."
The human remains have not yet been analysed closely but the type of brooch uncovered has been almost exclusively associated with female burials in the past.
"This individual was buried according to pagan rites, which were brought with the Scandinavians when they came to Ireland," the statement added.
The first recorded Viking activity in Ireland is from 795, while the earliest sign of such settlement in Dublin comes in the ninth century.
Maeve Sikora, of the museum's Irish Antiquities Division, said the discovery was made close to a medieval church north of Dublin that was being excavated under government licence prior to development of the site.
Extensive road and building works throughout Ireland are leading to the discovery of many ancient artifacts.
Five months ago, archaeologists discovered a major Viking military settlement, or longphort, at Woodstown on the River Suir in the southeast of Ireland.
The find was made during excavations in advance of a planned road by-pass for the nearby city of Waterford, that, like most of Ireland's main coastal cities, including Dublin, first began as a Viking settlement.
SOURCE w/ more links : news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040820/sc_afp/ireland_history_vikings