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To learn about Vikings in Ireland, archaeologists have excavated burial and building sites. Some have been found accidentally, but other remains have been purposefully excavated, often from under streets, sidewalks, and pubs in modern day Dublin (Atwood).

Most archaeological remains have been dated using carbon dating, allowing scientists to produce a range of dates for the time of death. Carbon dating measures the remaining radioactive carbon left in an organic specimen.

According to Atwood, one notable discovery was the remains of four male skeletons from an excavation under a Dublin street. The remains were found with Viking weapons, originally just reaffirming a history of Viking presence in Ireland. However, results from carbon dating pointed to time periods earlier than the accepted first Viking raid. This presented scientists with the idea Vikings were present in Ireland before 790 BCE. These early settlements could have been used to identify where profitable sites were located, helping future Viking raiders.

Archaeologists also performed geophysical surveys to gather spatial information. These surveys used sensing instruments to create an image or map of the areas they were excavating, which would be useful when analyzing and categorizing artifacts.

In a very recent 2019 discovery, Norwegian archaeologists used georadar to locate a buried Viking ship (McGreevy). In this method, electromagnetic waves are used to produce an underground image. This leaves the artifact undisturbed, and allows scientists to plan and prepare before an excavation. Although this discovery was found in Norway, not Ireland, the technology holds promising for future use, and could be used to learn more about Viking settlements in Ireland.

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Atwood, Roger. “The Vikings in Ireland.” Archaeology, vol. 68, no. 2, 2015, pp. 46–49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/stable/24364683. Accessed 17 June 2020.

Mark, Joshua J. “Vikings.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 15 June 2020, www.ancient.eu/Vikings/.

Mark, Joshua J. “Ancient Ireland.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 June 2020, www.ancient.eu/ireland/.

McGreevy, Nora. “For the First Time in a Century, Norway Will Excavate Viking Ship Burial.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 12 May 2020, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/first-time-century-norway-will-excavate-viking-ship-burial-180974854/#:~:text=Norwegian%20archaeologists%20are%20set%20to,the%20country's%20government%20announced%20Monday.&text=According%20to%20Forbes%2C%20the%20Gjellestad,Jell%20Mound%20in%20%C3%98stfold%20County.

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The Vikings were a diverse culture made up of people from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (Mark, “Vikings”). The term Vikings referred to individuals who traveled overseas to raid other regions, usually looking to acquire wealth or more fertile land.

The Vikings raided large stretches of land across Europe, but colonized heavily in Scotland, Britain, France, and Ireland (Mark, “Vikings”). Specifically in Ireland, the Vikings first appeared around 790 BCE, and continued to raid and colonize for the next 300 years (Mark, “Ancient Ireland”). Although lots of Vikings left Ireland, some did create permanent settlements, which have become some of the largest cities in the country. For example, Dublin, the present-day capital city, was founded by the Vikings around 840 BCE. At that time, the settlement was called Longphort (Atwood, 48).

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Nikel, David. “Viking Grave Discovery In Sweden Leaves Archaeologists Stunned.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 July 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/07/06/viking-grave-discovery-in-sweden-leaves-archaeologists-stunned/#334689215e57.

Williams, Gareth. “History: How Do We Know About the Vikings?” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/evidence_01.shtml.

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What do we know about the Vikings? Archaeology provides evidence regarding Vikings — their conquest, settlements, language, and daily life (Williams). However, unfortunately, not much evidence regarding the prehistoric Vikings survives information is very limited for archaeologists to study.

One of the available evidence is the monastic chronicles written by churchmen. These chronicles such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Frankish and Irish Annals provide rough dates and event descriptions regarding the Vikings’ and their raids. The chronicles write about “the Vikings’ raid as God’s punishment on the Anglo-Saxons for their sins” and how the Vikings attacked monasteries for their wealth (Williams). Based on the comparison of the Vikings’ raid to God’s punishment, it shows how violent their attacks were. These chronicles written by churchmen who were attacked by the Vikings contain obvious bias and they contribute to creating the violent and atrocious image of Vikings.

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Another archaeological evidence that exists today is rune stones. According to Williams, the Vikings had and used a different lettering system apart from the European world called runes or ‘futhark” (Williams). Though rune stones do not contain abundant information due to its tendency to be carved than written, they often contain the following: the name of the person being remembered, ones who made and carved the stones, personal achievements, historical events he or she was involved in. The rune stones not only show that the Vikings had their lettering system but also that the Vikings commemorated their warriors respectfully.

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Out of all the archaeological evidence about the Vikings, the most detailed ones are Icelandic sagas. These sagas include detailed stories of Norway kings and Orkney earls and the ordinary people of Iceland (Williams). However, these sagas were written starting from the 12th century; thus, the sagas describe events that happened two or three hundred years ago. The sagas graphically depict the Vikings and their events which contributes to the creation of today’s Viking image and myth.

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Lastly, in 2019, a team of Swedish archaeologists discovered and excavated a Viking boat grave for the first time in 50 years. In one of the two boats discovered, remains of a man, horse, and dog were found along with personal items such as a sword, spear, shield, and a comb (Nikel). Based on this discovery, archaeologists scholarly assume that the buried people had a high social status and that these boat burials were a privilege specifically available for them (Nikel). Thanks to this sensational discovery, archaeologists were able to learn that Vikings’ boat burials were a high-status privilege and how the Vikings had their unique burial traditions.

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As a result of archaeological findings and different studies conducted on vikings, it was discovered that their history was particularly extensive and filled with facts pertaining to their societal life in terms of law and a sense of democracy, as well as the climate surrounding their culture; such as their multifaceted forms of art (like poetry), and their variety of crafts (like swords, axes). The culture and history of vikings stretch beyond the common conceptions of people today. Some of the main points to take away from the culture and history were their great abilities of exploration, their communal living, their molding and crafting of different survival objects, and their societal order/regulation. The Vikings were considered by archaeologists and other historians to be the first form of a democracy and depiction of our modern jury system. This particular group expressed their ideas of what is law and what is just in their communities by practicing what we say today "the right to bear arms." Vikings utilized their artifacts, such as their weapons to keep order in their farmlands and conquer outsiders during expeditions. It was even discovered that, for crime done within the Viking community, twelve particularly important men would have the ultimate decision and judge the perpetrator. This is where many historians believe our current jurisdiction was influenced by. This is just one of many different ways this group has made lasting impacts post historical times. The main take away from Vikings and their culture/history is to recognize the influences it had on following points of history and different cultures, especially in the development of Europe (and more specifically Scandinavia). They are renowned for their architecture in their ships and coffins, their methods of trade/exploration, mortuary practices, warfare, and much more. This is a great depiction of how historical cultural groups, such as the Vikings, can somehow manifest their practices, ideologies, and methods of life into later systems and cultural groups. This is precisely why archaeological findings of pre-historic/historic times provide essential information for our world to not only understand how we've evolved as humans to be, but also to progress us forward and learn from what didn't work or include useful ideas that did.

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The Viking Culture does exhibit conspicuous consumption because the central aspect of the Viking society was the collection and display of wealth. The Chronicles show that the Vikings attacked monasteries for their wealth and was done to create a popular image for the Vikings. They are “often attributed as savages raiding the more civilized nations for treasure” (Goodrich, Viking History: Facts & Myths). The way the Vikings were able to be so successful in raiding other cities was because of their ships. The ships were very fast and were more technologically advanced than their rivals. The ships were light and designed to be able to still sail in a meter of water deep. This made it much easier to sneak up onto other cities and be able to get closer to land without the natives knowing.

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The Vikings also taught themselves to direct the ship without a compass. This made traveling much easier and was a much quicker process. They did this by using solar stones that showed them where the sun was on cloudier days, when they could not see the sun itself. The Vikings were known for taking thousands of men, women, and children captive and selling them as slaves. Many of the kidnapped slaves were from the British Isles and most of Eastern Europe. Women were the most common slave to be kidnapped and kept by the Vikings, while men and children were often sold. The women were usually kept to be wives for the Viking men.

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Pruitt, Sarah. “What We Know About Vikings and Slaves.” History, History Channel, 27 June 2019, https://www.history.com/news/viking-slavery-raids-evidence

Garcia, Bibiana. “The Viking Technology that Conquered the World.” BBVA, BBVA OpenMind, 26 March 2018, https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/economy/geopolitics/the-viking-technology-that-conquered-the-world/

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“Culture > History > The Vikings and the Viking Era.” Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts,
https://www.ingebretsens.com/culture/history/the-vikings-and-the-viking-era
Goodrich, Ryan. “Viking History: Facts & Myths.” LiveScience, Purch, 29 Aug. 2018
https://www.livescience.com/32087-viking-history-facts-myths.html#:~:text=The%20Vikings%20were%20a%20seafaring,the%20distant%20reaches%20of%20Russia.