Woodstown

Woodstown is home to a historic settlement measuring 1.5 km by 0.5 km, located on the southern bank of the River Suir, about 5.5 km west of Waterford City in the southeast of Ireland. This is separate from the beach, Woodstown, which is a tidal unspoilt beach further up the estuary to the renowned fishing port of Dunmore East.

Discovery

The National Roads Authority had planned to build a road over the site. Investigation of the road route led to the discovery of the site. However, the NRA have decided to bypass the site and will therefore have no responsibility for the site in the future. The NRA reports, based on excavations in April and August 2003, suggest that the site found at Woodstown was a defended, riverside settlement with evidence of industrial activity, most likely dating from the period - 800 to 1000 AD.

9th century Viking settlement

About 4,000 objects including silver ingots, ships nails, Byzantine coins and Viking weaponry have been recovered through preliminary surface test trenching. Much of the metal work found at Woodstown dates back to the mid to late 800s.

With over 600 features such as house gullies, pits and fireplaces found, the archaeology points to a densely populated and affluent settlement.

Apart from Woodstown, there is no evidence of a large 9th century Viking settlement in Western Europe.

5th century Iron Age settlement

Initial studies suggest that the site may have been built and occupied by the local Déise around the time of Saint Patrick and long before the first Vikings arrived in Ireland.

At that time, the Déise were established as an outward-looking people with a strong maritime tradition and colonies in south west Wales.

External links

* [http://www.vikingwaterford.com/ Save Viking Waterford Action Group(SVWAG)]
* [http://www.nra.ie/Archaeology/N25WaterfordBypass-Woodstown/ NRA Report]