Three members of one family are linked by their struggle to survive
poverty and war at the turn of the century.
Kate, a homesick, lonely Irish immigrant, dreams of being a writer. After difficult times in Liverpool she comes
to London looking for a better life.
Hoping to escape from a life of domestic service into marriage and
motherhood, she meets charming rogue William Duffield. Despite her worries about his uncertain
temperament, she becomes involved with him. Will it be an escape or a prison?
Fred is a restless elder son, devoted to his mother yet locked in a
tempestuous relationship with his father.
War intervenes and he secretly signs up to serve abroad. Is his bad reputation deserved? What will become of him?
Joe, too young to sign up for WWI, is left to endure the hardships of
war on the home front and deal with his own guilt at not being able to
serve. He starts an innocent friendship
with his sister-in-law which sustains him through hard times. Will he survive the bombs, the riots, the
rationing and find true love in the end?
These are their intertwined and interlocking stories recreated through
the medium of diaries, letters and personal recollections, based on the
author’s family history covering the period of 1879 – 1920. The truth is never
plain and rarely simple.
This novel is a fresh and compelling look at life for the working-class
poor in England at the end of the Victorian era. Covering issues such as the struggle for home
rule in Ireland, the hardships of domestic service, marital strife, the
suffragettes and the horrors of World War 1 on the home front and abroad, this
is a realistic and gripping tale which keeps the reader involved in their human
plight all the way.
May 1941: German bombs drop on Dublin taking Sarah Gillespie’s family
and home. Days later, the man she loves leaves Ireland to enlist.
A heart-breaking choice
With nothing to keep her in Ireland and a burning desire to help the war
effort, Sarah seeks refuge with relatives in England. But before long, her
father’s dark past threatens to catch up with her.
A dangerous mission
Sarah is asked to prove her loyalty to Britain through a special
mission. Her courage could save lives. But it could also come at the cost of
her own…
A gripping story that explores a deadly tangle of love and espionage in
war-torn Britain, perfect for fans of Pam Jenoff, Kate Quinn, and Kate
Furnivall.
As science progresses and archaeologists are forging new positive relationships with developers around Irish heritage, more secrets from Ireland’s Viking past are coming to light, and they are not just found in burial grounds, unearthed dwellings, and old settlements; they can be found in the DNA of the modern-day Irish people. The Vikings may have only been present in Ireland for three centuries – a drop in the ocean compared to its long and dramatic history – but recent research is showing that their influence was far greater than previously realised.
The Viking Age in Ireland – Do We Need to Revise the Textbooks?
The Viking Age in Ireland is typically seen to have begun with the first recorded raid in 795 AD, taking a turning point in 841 AD when the first settlements were established in Dublin and Annagassan near Dundalk, and ending in 1014 AD with the Viking defeat at the Battle of Clontarf by the Irish High King Brian Boru (although the Vikings continued to play a role in Ireland’s history until the arrival of the Normans in 1171 AD).
Recent archaeological discoveries in Dublin have been raising questions about whether this timeline is accurate, hinting that there may be a lot more to the story. In 2003, excavations were underway as part of the expansion of the Dunnes Stores headquarters on Dublin’s South Great George’s Street, when archaeologists found the bodies of four Vikings aged between their late teens and late twenties.
Radiocarbon dating on the skeletal remains revealed that three of the young Vikings died some time between 670 to 882 AD (Median = 776 AD), a finding which The Journal reports could change the course of decades of research. Did the Vikings set foot in Ireland earlier than currently believed?
Professor Howard Clarke, historian, director of the Medieval Trust, and co-author of Dublin and the Viking World , told Ancient Origins that radiocarbon dating can be problematic as it cannot be used for spot dating. Nevertheless, he added that “The current view is that these burials may well represent early raids on the monastery of Duiblinn (Dubhlinn) before the settlement in 841.”
While historians like Dr Clarke are reluctant to suggest that raids could have been occurring prior to the official ‘start date’ of the Irish Viking Age i.e. 795 AD, the datings on three of the Vikings at least indicates it is a possibility. “They also show that the research into Irish history is never finished,” reported The Journal , “there’s always something more to discover”.
The findings may not prove an earlier start to the Viking Age or that permanent settlement was occurring prior to 841 AD, but they do suggest that the Vikings were paying Dublin some visits before they were ready to unpack their bags.
The Vikings paid Dublin some visits before they eventually settled there (War of the Vikings, John Rickne, Community Manager, Paradox Interactive/ Public Domain )
More Than Just Fearsome Raiders
These early ‘visits’ were in the form of raids and are what gave the Vikings their reputation as a marauding bunch of fearsome invaders who raped, pillaged, and plundered as they went.
Between at least 795 and 836 AD, there were countless ‘hit and run’ raids by both the Norsemen and the Danes, and they unleashed terror upon the land, striking fear in the hearts of the Irish.
They sailed up every creek, shouldering their boats marched from river to river and lake to lake into every tribeland, covering the country with their forts, plundering the rich men’s raths of their cups and vessels and ornaments of gold, sacking the schools and monasteries and churches, and entering every great king’s grave for buried treasure. Their heavy iron swords, their armour, their discipline of war, gave them an overwhelming advantage against the Irish with, as they said, bodies and necks and gentle heads defended only by fine linen. Monks and scholars gathered up their manuscripts and holy ornaments, and fled away for refuge to Europe.” Alice Stopford Green in Irish Nationality (1911).
But was there more to the Vikings than just ferocious and greedy warriors, and did they leave more than fear behind in their wake?
Were the Vikings more than just ferocious warriors? Diorama with Vikings at Archaeological Museum in Stavanger, Norway. (CC BY SA 4.0)
A discovery in Cork city last year highlighted a more civilised side to Viking life in Ireland. Beneath the former Beamish and Crawford brewery, archaeologists retrieved a perfectly-preserved Viking sword . But this was no deadly weapon.
The sword, measuring just 30cm in length, was made of wood – obviously highly unsuitable for the battleground! The finely crafted sword features carved human faces on its handle and would have been used by women for weaving – the flat sides for hammering threads into place on a loom, and the pointed end for picking up the threads for the pattern-making. It was a fine example of Viking craftsmanship. But it is one artifact out of thousands that have revealed aspects of Viking life that are rarely recognised or talked about.
The Viking weaver’s sword unearthed in Cork last year. Credit: BAM Ireland
Excavations undertaken since 1974 at the Viking settlement site located at Wood Quay in Dublin have yielded an enormous Viking time capsule. More than 100 houses and other buildings have been unearthed, along with thousands of objects, including jewellery made from amber, bronze, silver, and gold, iron locks and keys, children’s games and toys, needles, spindles, yarn, and cloth smoothers for the production of textiles, a whalebone ‘ironing board’, silver coins, weights and scales for commercial transactions, craftsmen’s tools made from antler, animal and whalebone, horn and walrus ivory, and personal items such as brushes, combs and hair pins.
Woodworkers, carpenters, coopers and basket weavers were active, producing a range of objects such as wooden bowls, plates, pails, buckets, barrels, tubs, spatulas, platters, cups, spoons, mortars, trays, baskets and boxes,” writes the National Museum of Ireland , where most of the items are now housed. “Evidence for ironworking comes in the form of blacksmith’s tools such as tongs, hammers, knives, saws, chisels, punches, files, whetstones and grindstones… Leather workers produced objects such as shoes, sheaths, scabbards and bags, examples of which have survived. Some leather worker’s tools have also survived - awls, punches, scorers, and at least one wooden last.”
“The Viking town had an agricultural hinterland that sustained it, and many agricultural tools were found in the course of the excavations included wooden shovels, iron spades, planting tools, iron plough socks, billhooks and sickles. The discovery of a wooden churn dash shows that butter making took place within the town. In addition to being excellent mariners, the Vikings were also skilled horsemen. Finds associated with horse riding include stirrups, spurs, harness bells, harness mounts and saddle pommels,” the Museum writes.
Artefacts from Dublin excavations. Credit: National Museum of Ireland
The discoveries at Wood Quay provided an unprecedented look at the Vikings, shedding light on every aspect of life in the early medieval settlements. They were highly experienced farmers, ship builders, traders, blacksmiths, jewellers, metalworkers, cooks, garment makers and craftsmen, and this legacy can still be seen in Ireland today.
The newcomers introduced coins into Ireland – the very earliest (silver pennies) were produced in Dublin under the Viking King Sihtric III around 997 AD; they influenced the language, leaving behind words like ransack, window, market, outlaw, husband, and honeymoon; they brought chicken to the Irish diet, which the Vikings had discovered in China; and they brought items acquired through trade with Persia, Byzantium and Asia. For centuries to follow, and still today, the Scandinavian influence can be seen in literature, crafts, decorative styles, and cuisine.
“They [the Irish] learned from them to build ships, organise naval forces, advance in trade, and live in towns; they used the northern words for the parts of a ship, and the streets of a town. In outward and material civilisation they accepted the latest Scandinavian methods.” (Stopford Green, 1911).
“That’s the other side of Viking life”, Sheila Dooley, Curator and Education Officer at Dublinia told The Journal , “as barbaric as they were and how treacherous and how much they terrorised our society, they also helped establish our towns.”
The Vikings did not succeed in obtaining dominion over Ireland, as they had in England, but their presence had shaped Irish society and culture forever.
There was more, however, that the Vikings left behind.
Top image: Some of the Viking raids ended in death – for the Vikings. (CC BY 2.0)
Today marks Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, a cultural and religious holiday celebrated every year on 17th March in Ireland and by Irish communities around the world. The celebration marks the anniversary of Saint Patrick’s death in the fifth century and represents the arrival of Christianity in the country. The Irish have observed this day as a holiday for over 1,000 years, and while the festival began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, today it has become an international celebration of Irish culture.
Over the centuries, the mythology surround the life of Saint Patrick has become ever more ingrained in the Irish culture. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is credited with expelling all the snakes from Ireland, and today, not a single snake can be found there. But the true meaning of the casting away of all snakes runs much deeper.
Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century AD, into a wealthy family. According to the Declaration, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. There he spent six years working as a shepherd and during this time he “found God”. The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest.
According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration, a Latin letter which is generally accepted to have been written by St Patrick, says that he spent many years preaching in the northern half of Ireland and converted "thousands". Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Ireland's foremost saint. While his true name was Maewyn Succat, he later became known as St Patrick, named after his place of burial.
The symbol of the shamrock
On St Patrick's Day it is customary to wear shamrocks and green clothing. St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaf clover, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. This story first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older. In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had many triple deities. The triple spiral symbol, or Triskelion, appears at many ancient megalithic and Neolithic sites in Ireland. It is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange, which was built around 3200 BC, predated the Celtic arrival in Ireland but has long since been incorporated into Celtic culture.
An Irish shamrock on the left, and the triple spiral symbol on the right.
St Patrick banishes the snakes from Ireland
The absence of snakes in Ireland gave rise to the legend that they had all been banished by St. Patrick chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill. However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes. Water has surrounded Ireland since the end of the last glacial period, preventing snakes from slithering over; before that, it was blanketed in ice and too chilly for the cold-blooded creatures. Scholars believe the snake story is an allegory for St Patrick’s eradication of pagan ideology.
The snake was the symbol of the Celts and their spiritual elite, the Druids - who inhabited the island of Ireland long before the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century AD. When Patrick arrived, the only “pesky and dangerous creatures” that St Patrick wished to cast away were the native Celts.
Since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," said classics professor Philip Freeman of Luther College in Iowa.
An Image depicting St Patrick casting the snakes into the sea. Image source
St Patrick features in many stories in the Irish oral tradition and there are many customs connected with his feast day. Over the centuries, these traditions have been given new layers of meaning – the symbolic resonance of the St Patrick figure stretches from that of Christianity’s arrival in Ireland to an identity that encompasses everything Irish.
Today, St Patrick is a patriotic symbol along with the colour green and the shamrock. St. Patrick's Day celebrations include many traditions that are known to be relatively recent historically, but have endured through time because of their association either with religious or national identity.
Modern-day celebrations of St Patrick’s Day
Featured image: St Patrick banishes the snakes. Image source.
Should politicians tell people what and how much to drink? Recent government decisions to try and impose a minimum price for alcohol sales in England and Wales have taken the campaign against what is seen as excessive consumption into intriguing new territory. (Scotland and Northern Ireland have been having their own debates about how far the law can intervene). The focus now is not only on places where people go out to drink but also on domestic consumption. And middle-class consumption of wine is receiving much more attention too.
Ironically it has been attempts to increase rather than decrease wine consumption in Britain that have figured more prominently in the past – at least since the 19th century. Prior to that, wine, as the imported tipple of the mainly well-to-do, had seen some regulation and had at times been caught up in trade disputes, especially with France. Increased duties were imposed on imported French wine to try and harm French commerce. Spanish and Portuguese wines, by contrast, were generally favoured as these countries were more consistently allies of Britain.
But by the mid-19th century, British champions of free trade challenged such use of tariffs as diplomatic weapons. Good trade relations – sealed amicably, no doubt, over bottles of good vintage – helped prevent future wars, it was argued.
James Nicholls of Bath Spa University, a specialist on the history of alcohol consumption, hails the 1860 Treaty of Commerce – in which import duties were reduced on all wine – as a turning point. William Gladstone, the treaty’s chief architect, spoke openly of what he hoped would be a change in British drinking habits – away from an obsession with beer – so that wine would no longer be a “rich man’s luxury”.
At the same time he was sensitive to the fears of Victorian temperance campaigners that cheaper wine would encourage drunkenness. More wine drinking was meant to civilise British drinkers, claimed Gladstone. His measures were intended for the “promotion of temperance and sobriety as opposed to drunken and demoralised habits”. Other changes – forerunners of the modern ‘off licence’ system – allowed grocers and restaurateurs, rather than just pubs, to sell alcohol. They were intended to weaken the “unnatural divorce between eating and drinking”.
Behind all this lay cultural assumptions about alcohol consumption that always lurk in these debates. We have tended, says James Nicholls, to “imbue different drinks with different ethical values”. Whereas some have been linked to the bad habits of the lower orders – think of Hogarth’s image of social catastrophe in Gin Lane, or modern debates about lager louts – wine was never associated with boorish drunkenness in this way.
Though there was an initial increase in wine drinking (what’s been called ‘the era of cheap Gladstone claret’), British café society, combining wine-drinking with eating, never took off as Gladstone might have hoped. It was only in the 1960s that there was, as Nicholls puts it, a “greater democratisation of wine drinking”. More wines became available from around the world, and supermarkets added competition. As a result, wine sales have steadily increased, while beer consumption has declined.
So Gladstone might have been pleased by today’s spread of wine into British drinking culture. It is no longer the reserve of the rich. But he would have worried about the evidence that consumption – for some individuals – is rising rapidly. Health professionals, today’s equivalent of 19th‑century temperance campaigners, no longer seem to share the old assumption that wine-drinking is inherently less harmful than other kinds of alcohol.
Extra But reversing this trend will not be easy. Policing what goes on in pubs has been far easier than controlling what people do in their own homes. The long contest between political and moral control and Britain’s ‘drinking culture’ is entering a fascinating new phase.
Chris Bowlby is a presenter on BBC radio, specialising in history
Today, the Irish and visitors celebrated the Winter Solstice as they did thousands of years ago at Newgrange, a huge Stone Age megalithic monument into the deepest part of whose main chamber the sun shines at sunrise. This year about 30,000 people participated in a lottery, from whom 50 were chosen, to be in the 5,000-year-old monument at sunrise to witness the primeval event the mornings of Dec. 18 to 23.
While the monument near the Boyne River in County Meath is open all year and is one of Ireland’s most popular attractions, it draws special international attention today.
Newgrange predates the great pyramids at Giza in Egypt by some 500 years and Stonehenge by about 1,000 years. When it was built, sunrise on the shortest day of the year, what we now call December 21, entered the main chamber precisely at sunrise. Experts say it is not by chance that the sun shines there. Now it enters about four minutes after sunrise because of changes in the Earth’s orbiting of the sun since then.
Solstice sunrise light entering the Newgrange monument, a photo by Cyril Byrne of the Irish Times, as seen on NASA’s Astronomy Photo of the Day website.
Archaeologists say they believe Newgrange and two other nearby monuments, Knowth and Dowth, were tombs, built in ancient times to provide somewhere to bury the dead and as ritual and community gatherings, perhaps to honor ancestors. They believe it took decades to construct by generations of the Neolithic people, about whom little is known.
The tomb itself is massive and impressive and is surrounded by a henge or ring of huge stones. Experts say they believe the huge stones were moved from the nearby river, perhaps by rolling them on logs.
This short YouTube video from National Geographic gives great views of the Newgrange tomb and monument.
The number of bone fragments found inside Newgrange hardly constitute evidence of a communal burial chamber, Ancient Origins reported in 2013 in a two-part article about the Neolithic structure. In total, the bones of only five individuals were found inside the monument during excavations in the 1960s. Some bones could have been taken away after the rediscovery of the entrance to the passage and chamber in 1699. But at over 85 meters (278 feet) in diameter, and containing more than 250,000 tons of stone and earth, this monument would seem such a lavish and grandiose tomb for a few mere mortals, if that were indeed its sole purpose.
The structure of the passage tomb was buried in earth for many centuries, until archaeologist M.J. O’Kelly began excavating it in 1962. He worked there until 1975. In 1967, he saw for the first time in thousands of years the dawn sunlight striking into the chamber on December 21. The light enters a perfectly placed window and hits deep in the tomb where the human remains were found.
O’Kelly wrote in his notes: “The effect is very dramatic as the direct light of the sun brightens and cast a glow of light all over the chamber. I can see parts of the roof and a reflected light shines right back into the back of the end chamber.”
O’Kelly and others have restored the Newgrange mound. It is 12 meters (40 feet) high. The total area of the monument and surrounds covers about 1 acre, and its roof is intact and still waterproof 5,000 years after construction. Triple-spiral carvings like the Celts did still adorn many of the stones making up the tomb.
The triple spiral carvings on a wall at Newgrange (Photo by Johnbod/Wikimedia Commons)
Up until 1967, after archaeological excavation, conservation and restoration work, it was not possible for the light of the sun to illuminate the interior. This was because of the slow subsidence of the roofing stones of the passage, which had slowly sunk as the supporting orthostats leaned inwards over the long centuries. Before 1967, when Professor O’Kelly became the first person to witness the solstice event in modern times, nobody could have witnessed this phenomenon. And yet, local folklore held that the sun shone into Newgrange on the shortest day of the year. O’Kelly pointed to this as being one of the reasons for his visit to the chamber in December 1967.
But the astronomical mysteries of Newgrange run deeper. In 1958, in his book about primitive mythology, Joseph Campbell recounted a folk tale from the Boyne Valley in which a local had told him the light of the Morning Star, Venus, shone into the chamber of Newgrange at dawn on one day every eight years and cast a beam upon a stone on the floor of the chamber containing two worn sockets. This might seem like an incredible suggestion, except for the fact that it is astronomically accurate. Venus follows an eight-year cycle and on one year out of every eight, it rises in the pre-dawn sky of winter solstice and its light would be able to be seen from within the chamber.
Featured image: December 21, the longest night and shortest day of the year, is a special event at Newgrange in County Meath, Ireland. This photo was shot August 24, 2014. (Photo by Paul A. Byrne/Wikimedia Commons)
A 1,000-year-old wooden Viking weaver’s sword has been unearthed by archaeologists at the historic site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery in Cork city, Ireland. Experts describe the sword as an artifact of “exceptional significance.”
Perfectly Preserved Viking Sword Discovered in Ireland
As The Irish Times report, the Viking sword was discovered in great condition, a fact that made archaeologists particularly happy. According to information available so far, the valuable finding is just over 30cm ()12 inches in length, made entirely from yew, and it features carved human faces typical of the Ringerike style of Viking art, dating back to the late 11th century. The Viking artifacts were discovered in May, but they were officially announced only recently, following an informal visit to the Cork Public Museum by the Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland, Else Berit Eikeland.
Else Berit Eikeland (center) at King of the Vikings Exhibit, Waterford, Ireland (Image: kingofthevikings)
Dr. Maurice Hurley, a consultant archaeologist and leader of the dig at the site, described the sword as one of a handful of artifacts of "exceptional significance" uncovered during recent excavation works at the South Main Street site. Also found were untouched ground plans of 19 Viking residences, relics of central hearths and bedding material. "For a long time there was a belief that the strongest Viking influence was on Dublin and Waterford, but the full spectrum of evidence shows that Cork was in the same cultural sphere and that its development was very similar," he said as The Irish Times reported. "A couple of objects similar to the weaver’s sword have been found in Wood Quay, but nothing of the quality of craftsmanship and preservation of this one," he added.
Else Berit Eikeland (center) at King of the Vikings Exhibit, Waterford, Ireland (Image: kingofthevikings) Dr. Maurice Hurley, a consultant archaeologist and leader of the dig at the site, described the sword as one of a handful of artifacts of "exceptional significance" uncovered during recent excavation works at the South Main Street site. Also found were untouched ground plans of 19 Viking residences, relics of central hearths and bedding material. "For a long time there was a belief that the strongest Viking influence was on Dublin and Waterford, but the full spectrum of evidence shows that Cork was in the same cultural sphere and that its development was very similar," he said as The Irish Times reported. "A couple of objects similar to the weaver’s sword have been found in Wood Quay, but nothing of the quality of craftsmanship and preservation of this one," he added. AD Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Ep2: 'Has Anybody Not Seen That Product?' Sponsored by CONNATIX The hilt of the 30cm (12 inches) long Viking weaving tool (BAM Ireland) Dr. Hurley appeared pleasantly surprised about the fact that the several wooden items had survived underground in such a great condition. “It’s quite miraculous,” he said as The Irish Times report. Additionally, he suggests that the sword was used mainly by women for daily tasks, "The sword was used probably by women, to hammer threads into place on a loom; the pointed end is for picking up the threads for pattern-making,” he said. A Remarkable Sword Find Despite the immense archaeological and historical value of the recent discovery, this is not the first time such an old Viking sword has discovered. Last month, a hunting party found an incredibly well-preserved metal Viking sword laying openly in rocks high in the hills in Norway. The approximately 1100-year-old blade was rusty but otherwise in almost pristine condition due to the quality of the iron and the extreme cold conditions of where it was found. Hiker stumbles upon 1,200-year-old Viking sword while walking an ancient trail in Norway Hunters Find Striking Viking Sword Isolated at High Altitude in Norway The Viking sword, dated to c. AD 850-950. ( Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/ Oppland County Council ) As April Holloway reported in a previous Ancient Origins article, a team of hunters tracking geese in Skaftárhreppur, South Iceland, discovered a 1,000-year-old Viking sword lying completely exposed in the sand almost a year ago. The double-edged sword was of extraordinary condition considering its age. The sword was then passed to The Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland, which carried out further testing and preservation work on the sword. Sword of Late Viking Age Burial Unveiled Exhibiting Links Between Norway and England 1,000-Year-Old Viking Sword Discovered in Iceland by Men Hunting Geese 1,000-year-old sword found in Iceland Credit: Árni Björn Valdimarsson Such finds are rare but you are far more likely to come across a metal sword that is 1000 or more years old than a wooden one. That said, earlier this month Ancient Origins reported on two small, wooden, Roman era swords, aged at least 1600 years, that had been well-preserved sealed earth at Vindolanda, England. These are thought to be toy swords and the quality of handicraft does not match that of the new find. Two Roman Cavalry Swords and Two Toy Swords Amongst Treasures Found at Frontier Fort Researchers Wonder if Rich Viking Boat Burial Found in Scotland was Made for a Warrior Woman One of the ancient toy wooden swords, with a gemstone in its pommel ( The Vindolanda Trust ) Viking swords often had handles that were richly decorated with intricate designs in silver, copper, and bronze. The higher the status of the individual that yielded the sword, the more elaborate the grip. Dr. Hurley appears to agree with the general consensus as he said about the newly discovered sword, “It’s highly decorated - the Vikings decorated every utilitarian object," The Irish Times report. It is not just the marked difference in the workmanship which shows this to be a weaver’s sword, but also other items found in the vicinity, which include a wooden thread-winder carved with two horses’ heads, also associated with fabric weaving. The human head carved at the end of the hilt (Image: BAM Ireland) Lord Mayor of Cork Describes Holding the Sword as a “Magical” Experience An exuberant Tony Fitzgerald, Lord Mayor of Cork, described his experience holding a Viking sword that had been hidden for almost a millennium as something magical. “The moisture on the dagger was fresh; it was in perfect condition,” he said as The Irish Times reported, while he also made a bold prediction that there will be “a very strong public interest” when the items go on display, which could be as early as February 2018. Ultimately, the valuable Viking remains are currently undergoing post-excavation examination by conservationists at the National Museum of Ireland. Curator of Cork Public Museum Daniel Breen expressed his interest to direct an exhibition on the Viking influence in Cork, but he added that it’s way too soon for that, as the exposure of the artifacts to too much oxygen could be catastrophic for them without chemical treatment first. Top image: The Viking weaver’s sword found at the South Main Street dig in Cork (Image: BAM Ireland) By Theodoros Karasavvas Section: Artifacts Ancient Technology News History & Archaeology Tags: Viking sword weaver weaving Wood wooden ireland carved tool Ringerike You Might Also Like Elkhorn Student Stuns Doctors With Crazy Method to Melt Fat Is This “Healthy” Food Making You Bloated? Ten Real Life Giants You Won't Believe Actually Exist After Weeks Of Rumors, Joanna Gaines Comes Clean 1 Simple Trick Removes Eye Bags & Lip Lines in Seconds We Say Good Bye To Joanna And Chip ? 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The hilt of the 30cm (12 inches) long Viking weaving tool (BAM Ireland)
Dr. Hurley appeared pleasantly surprised about the fact that the several wooden items had survived underground in such a great condition. “It’s quite miraculous,” he said as The Irish Times report. Additionally, he suggests that the sword was used mainly by women for daily tasks, "The sword was used probably by women, to hammer threads into place on a loom; the pointed end is for picking up the threads for pattern-making,” he said.
A Remarkable Sword Find
Despite the immense archaeological and historical value of the recent discovery, this is not the first time such an old Viking sword has discovered.
Last month, a hunting party found an incredibly well-preserved metal Viking sword laying openly in rocks high in the hills in Norway. The approximately 1100-year-old blade was rusty but otherwise in almost pristine condition due to the quality of the iron and the extreme cold conditions of where it was found.
The Viking sword, dated to c. AD 850-950. ( Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/ Oppland County Council )
As April Holloway reported in a previous Ancient Origins article, a team of hunters tracking geese in Skaftárhreppur, South Iceland, discovered a 1,000-year-old Viking sword lying completely exposed in the sand almost a year ago. The double-edged sword was of extraordinary condition considering its age. The sword was then passed to The Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland, which carried out further testing and preservation work on the sword.
1,000-year-old sword found in Iceland Credit: Árni Björn Valdimarsson
Such finds are rare but you are far more likely to come across a metal sword that is 1000 or more years old than a wooden one. That said, earlier this month Ancient Origins reported on two small, wooden, Roman era swords, aged at least 1600 years, that had been well-preserved sealed earth at Vindolanda, England. These are thought to be toy swords and the quality of handicraft does not match that of the new find.
One of the ancient toy wooden swords, with a gemstone in its pommel ( The Vindolanda Trust )
Viking swords often had handles that were richly decorated with intricate designs in silver, copper, and bronze. The higher the status of the individual that yielded the sword, the more elaborate the grip. Dr. Hurley appears to agree with the general consensus as he said about the newly discovered sword, “It’s highly decorated - the Vikings decorated every utilitarian object," The Irish Times report.
It is not just the marked difference in the workmanship which shows this to be a weaver’s sword, but also other items found in the vicinity, which include a wooden thread-winder carved with two horses’ heads, also associated with fabric weaving.
The human head carved at the end of the hilt (Image: BAM Ireland)
Lord Mayor of Cork Describes Holding the Sword as a “Magical” Experience
An exuberant Tony Fitzgerald, Lord Mayor of Cork, described his experience holding a Viking sword that had been hidden for almost a millennium as something magical. “The moisture on the dagger was fresh; it was in perfect condition,” he said as The Irish Times reported, while he also made a bold prediction that there will be “a very strong public interest” when the items go on display, which could be as early as February 2018.
Ultimately, the valuable Viking remains are currently undergoing post-excavation examination by conservationists at the National Museum of Ireland. Curator of Cork Public Museum Daniel Breen expressed his interest to direct an exhibition on the Viking influence in Cork, but he added that it’s way too soon for that, as the exposure of the artifacts to too much oxygen could be catastrophic for them without chemical treatment first.
Top image: The Viking weaver’s sword found at the South Main Street dig in Cork (Image: BAM Ireland)
Castle Law hill fort, Perth and Kinross. Almost 40% of the hill forts of the UK and Ireland are found in Scotland
The locations and details of all ancient hill forts in the UK and Ireland have been mapped in an online database for the first time.
Scientists found 4,147 sites - ranging from well-preserved forts to those where only crop marks are left.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford and University College Cork spent five years on the project.
Nearly 40% are in Scotland, with 408 in the Scottish Borders alone.
Information on all the hill forts has been collated onto a website that will be freely accessible to the public so they can discover details of the ancient sites they see in the countryside.
The University of Edinburgh's Prof Ian Ralston, who co-led the project, said: "Standing on a windswept hill fort with dramatic views across the countryside, you really feel like you're fully immersed in history.
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This research project is all about sharing the stories of the thousands of hill forts across Britain and Ireland in one place that is accessible to the public and researchers."
Brown Caterthun near Edzell, Angus. Sometimes only vegetation marks and remnants of the forts show where they once stood
Prof Gary Lock, from the University of Oxford, said it was important the online database was freely available to researchers and others, such as heritage managers, and would provide the baseline for future research on hill forts.
He added: "We hope it will encourage people to visit some incredible hill forts that they may never have known were right under their feet."
In England, Northumberland leads the way with 271 hill forts, while in the Republic of Ireland, Mayo and Cork each have more than 70 sites.
Powys is the county with the most hill forts in Wales, with 147, and in Northern Ireland, Antrim has the most, with 15.
Hill forts were mostly built during the Iron Age, with the oldest dating to around 1000 BC and the most recent to 700 AD, and had numerous functions, some of which have not been fully discovered.
Hill fort near Alyth, Perth and Kinross. The researchers have found 4,147 sites across the UK and Ireland
Despite the name, not all hill forts are on hills, and not all are forts, the experts said.
Excavations show many were used predominantly as regional gathering spots for festivals and trade, and some are on low-lying land.
The research team from the University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford and University College Cork were funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to gather information from citizen scientists.
About 100 members of the public collected data about the hill forts they visited, identifying and recording the characteristics of forts, which was then analysed by the team.
A medieval ringfort that contained a jewelry workshop and substantial farming has been unearthed in an eye-opener archaeological discovery during a road project about a mile north of Roscommon town in Ireland. More importantly, however, 793 bodies were found during the excavation - and the archaeologists expect their analysis will reveal the whole tale of the ringfort.
The Majority of the Bodies are Intact
With no antecedent record of any occupancy on the site, it was only apparent that there were important archaeological features in the area after the testing results conducted by experienced geophysicists came back. Following an excavation that lasted for over a year and ended last October, the archaeologists exploring the site had a clearer picture of the settlement and concluded that it was inhabited between the 6th and 11th centuries. Experts are optimistic that the dating techniques that will be used during the detailed analysis of the 793 found bodies will reveal the exact period of occupation. Interestingly, nearly 75% of the bodies were completely undamaged, while the rest were obviously distorted.
An archaeologist examining a skeleton found at the ringfort at Ranelagh, Co. Roscommon, Ireland. (Irish Archaeological Consultancy)
More Ringforts are “Hiding” Not Far Away
The excavation, led by archaeologist Shane Delaney, has already showed that the site was not likely inhabited during its later period of use, but instead it served as an administrative and industrial center for the civilians who lived in the surrounding areas.
The earliest ringfort enclosure at the site was around 40 meters (131.23 ft.) in diameter, but there was no confirmation on any maps to propose any significance before the site was tested by archaeologists. According to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) project archaeologist Martin Jones, supervising the excavation, there are at least three more ringforts within a 500-meter (1640.42 ft.) distance, “The working theory is that this was originally inhabited by a family that rose to some relative prominence in the area. They may have then constructed a number of other ringforts around this one, which became a centre for industrial activity,” he said, as Irish Examiner reports.
Aerial photograph of the Multivallate Ringfort at Rathrá, Co Roscommon, Ireland. (West Lothian Archaeological Trust (Jim Knowles, Frank Scott and John Wells)/CC BY SA 4.0)
A Large Amount of Unfinished Jewelry Was Found as Well as More Burials
A respectable amount of unfinished jewelry was found by the archaeologists, which indicates that they were designed in a workshop at the site, most likely for commercial purposes. The jewelry objects and fragments found, some of them associated with the burials, include amber and jet beads, a lignite bracelet, and a brooch panel with an enamel stud. A fragment of a copper alloy bracelet has been dated by its decoration to around 350 to 550 AD.
A few crouched burials were also found, with their knees pushed up to their chest, probably suggesting that these were strangers who were buried according to their own traditions. Some of the bodies have clear signs of punishment, including two in which feet and hands may have been bound, one of them buried face down. Additionally, two other buried bodies were decapitated, and several children, or adolescents, were positioned in the ground in embracing positions.
With the excavation work now finished, the analysis of the artifacts and DNA testing of the human remains will provide a clearer picture of the site’s history. Some tests which are scheduled to launch soon will use the latest techniques in order to provide further evidence, such as the diets of the people buried at Ranelagh, and their geographical origins. “When we have the results of radiocarbon dating and all the other analysis, we will have a huge amount of additional information. That’s when the real detective work begins,” Mr. Jones told Irish Examiner, implying that there’s much more work to do before they can make any solid conclusions about the ringfort’s background.
Aerial view of excavations at the site of a medieval ringfort found at Ranelagh in Ireland. (Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.)
Top Image: Reconstruction of a ringfort at Curraheen, Co Cork, Ireland - the kind of enclosure that would have been built first at the ringfort in Ranelagh, Co Roscommon. Source: Transport Infrastructure Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint’s religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
ST. PATRICK AND THE FIRST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.
Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honor St. Patrick’s Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.
GROWTH OF ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS
Over the next 35 years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called “Irish Aid” societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.
In 1848, several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world ‘s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participants each.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY, NO IRISH NEED APPLY AND THE “GREEN MACHINE”
Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their alien religious beliefs and unfamiliar accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country’s cities took to the streets on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.
The American Irish soon began to realize, however, that their large and growing numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the “green machine,” became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended New York City ‘s St. Patrick’s Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish Americans whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in the New World.
THE CHICAGO RIVER ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY
As Irish immigrants spread out over the United States, other cities developed their own traditions. One of these is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the Chicago River green. The practice started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river–enough to keep it green for a week! Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only 40 pounds of dye are used, and the river turns green for only several hours.
Although Chicago historians claim their city’s idea for a river of green was original, some natives of Savannah, Georgia (whose St. Patrick’s Day parade, the oldest in the nation, dates back to 1813) believe the idea originated in their town. They point out that, in 1961, a hotel restaurant manager named Tom Woolley convinced city officials to dye Savannah’s river green. The experiment didn’t exactly work as planned, and the water only took on a slight greenish hue. Savannah never attempted to dye its river again, but Woolley maintains (though others refute the claim) that he personally suggested the idea to Chicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY AROUND THE WORLD
Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day was traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use interest in St. Patrick’s Day to drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world. Today, approximately 1 million people annually take part in Ireland ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.
During the summer of 2016, a beautiful bronze brooch was found opportunely at Agdenes farm, at the outermost part of the Trondheim Fjord in mid-Norway, buried as a status symbol in the grave of a Viking woman. An analysis of the precious artifact revealed that it is a 9th century ornament that was originally a Celtic horse harness and was likely stolen during Viking raids in Ireland.
The Decorations Imply that the Jewelry Was Designed in Ireland
The well-maintained piece of jewelry is an ornament with a bird figure that has fish or dolphin like patterns on both sides. The decorations suggest that it was probably created in a Celtic workshop, probably in Ireland, between the 8th and 9th century. What’s more surprising though, it’s the fact that it was originally used as a fitting for a horse’s harness. The holes at the bottom and traces of rust from a needle on the back, reveal that it had probably been turned into a brooch at a later stage.
Some of you might wonder now how a fitting from an Irish horse’s harness ended up being brooch for a Norwegian Viking but those who are familiar with Vikings, a successful historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the channel History, shouldn’t be surprised. As the show clearly shows, Norwegian Vikings took part in relentless raids of the British Isles.
According to Heritage Daily, Aina Margrethe Heen Pettersen, a doctoral student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Historical Studies, works with finds brought to Norway during the Viking age and verifies what the popular TV series shows, “A housewife in Mid-Norway probably received the fitting as a gift from a family member who took part in one or more Viking raids to Ireland or Great Britain. When she died, the jewelry was given to her as a burial gift. It has stayed underground until it was found by chance this summer.” She also adds that this is not the first time they have found such pieces of jewelry from that era in a woman’s grave, and speculates that this was a way for Vikings to show their love to their women after they returned from their conquests to the British Isles.
Vikings undertook relentless raids of the British Isles. Thorir Hund kills King Olaf at the Battle of Stiklestad (public domain)
The Visual and Cultural Significance of The Symbols
It looks like love and affection weren’t the only reason Vikings handed such objects to their women, or other female family members. The Vikings who participated in the early raids to the British Isles and made it back alive, gave these objects to female family members not just as gifts but also as trophies that gave them a prestigious status within the Viking societies. The fittings were then transformed into pieces of jewelry, and were worn on traditional Norse clothing as brooches, pendants or belt fittings. Heen Pettersen says about this common practice that became a tradition, “As a result, it became clear to everyone that those women had family members who had taken part in successful expeditions far away. There are traces of gold on the surface of the jewelry, so it was originally covered in gold. It therefore appeared to be more valuable than it actually was. In addition, each piece of jewelry was unique, so the owner did not risk having the housewife next door turn up with the same piece of jewelry.”
An example of how a Viking woman would have worn her brooch.
The Grave Has Been Disturbed
Heen Pettersen claims that the impressive jewelry was discovered by a civilian with a metal detector so it can’t be considered a find from an archaeological site that was officially excavated. Additionally, the fact that the bronze brooch was not found in the original grave, clearly shows that the grave was disturbed at some point. Regardless these misfortunes, Heen Pettersen is pretty satisfied with the finding and says to Heritage Daily that its cultural and historical value is undeniable, “The new find from Agdenes farm shows that the area was populated in the first part of the Viking Age. Even though it is a random find, it is a nice reminder that Mid-Norway was involved in the early contact with the British Isles.”
Top image: The Celtic harness found buried with a Viking woman in Norway (Photo: Åge Hojem / NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology)
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