The Little Book of Waterford (eBook)

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WATERFORD: IRELAND’S OLDEST CITY

THE VIKING SETTLEMENT AT WOODSTOWN

One of the finest archaeological discoveries in recent years was made in County Waterford at Woodstown, on the southern bank of the River Suir approximately 9km upstream from Reginald’s Tower. The site was declared a national monument in May 2005 when its full significance was realised. D-shaped riverside Viking sites with the riverbank forming the straight side of the D are common across Europe but the Woodstown double-D site was of a different order. Archaeologists believe that a D-shaped enclosure was initially developed at Woodstown and at a later stage the ramparts were extended to form a double-D or what might be more accurately described as a B-shaped enclosure of 29,100 square metres. Information unearthed during the archaeological dig provided remarkable new insights into the Viking history of Waterford.

The dig unearthed 6,007 artefacts. Most were of iron but some stone objects, including whetstones and rotary grindstones used to sharpen tools and weapons, ceramic material and a small amount of organic material were also found. The discovery of a Viking burial ground with male grave goods was one of the most significant discoveries at the site. These included a sword, a spearhead, a shield boss, a knife, bone, a ringed pin, a whetstone and two copper-alloy mounts, which almost certainly belonged to a Viking warrior or other high-status individual. The landward sides of the settlement were surrounded by defensive ramparts, which consisted of a ditch and bank topped with oblique-angled palisade fencing.

Woodstown was a centre of commercial activity between c. 850 and c. 950. In the words of archaeologist Maurice F. Hurley, ‘The site was both a hive of industry and a commercial centre to which the talents and traditions of many lands were drawn.’ Evidence of industry, especially metalwork, was clear. The volume of waste, particularly of iron slag, implied that the scale of industrial activity at Woodstown was of greater significance than one just catering for the settlement itself. The discovery of an iron-smelting furnace was significant as this technique was not in general use in Ireland at the time but was in widespread use in northwest Europe, especially in areas with a Viking presence. In contrast, smithing carried out in Woodstown was in the Irish tradition and indicative of the importance of the maintenance of sharp edges on tools and weapons to the inhabitants. Commercial activities were suggested by the discovery of lead weights, hack-silver, silver ingots and cut-up items such as Arabic coins and objects of precious metals; the latter included both secular and ecclesiastical native-Irish objects. Only one semi-complete house ground plan was unearthed.

There may be scope for debate on whether the Woodstown stronghold amounted to a typical Viking-type longphort, but the archaeological evidence is indisputable that ‘this is the first archaeologically proven ninth-century Viking riverside settlement in Ireland’. The iron nails, roves and rivets discovered in Woodstown are clearly associated with the Scandinavian boat-building tradition and while large seagoing vessels may not have been built in Woodstown, boat repairing certainly took place. A number of roves found at Woodstown were cut and this is indicative of the break-up and repair of boats; the nails are evidence of the presence of Scandinavian-type boats.

There is no specific mention of the Woodstown settlement in the historical (written) record and the archaeological record is silent on the reasons for the abandonment of the site, but it is suggested that its success may have led to its ultimate failure and its industry may have outgrown its infrastructure. The settlement’s metalworking industry necessitated the loading and unloading of bulky cargo and this took place at a point where the currents of the River Suir were particularly fast and unsuitable for the construction of jetties close to the settlement. Woodstown may have been abandoned in favour of a more suitable port site at Waterford city.

WATERFORD: THE VIKING CITY FOUNDED BY RAGNALL

Waterford is the only Irish city to retain its Old Norse-derived place name: Waterford is a corruption of the Viking Vedrar-fjordr. Port Láirge, which is used by the early annalists, is believed to commemorate Láirge, an early Viking leader. In the mid-ninth century, the Vikings began to winter in Ireland and established their earliest permanent settlements, longphorts. A temporary longphort was established in Waterford in the mid-850s and this provided a strategically placed base that allowed the Vikings to launch raids inland, travelling via the Suir, Nore and Barrow rivers. In 914 one of their great adventurers, Ragnall, established a new base in Waterford and began an era of permanent Viking settlement in Ireland. According to the annals, Ragnall’s fleet originated in northern France and landed in Waterford after failing to establish a base in the Severn estuary. The annals recorded that ‘a great fleet of Norwegians landed at Port Láirge and they plundered Northern Ossary and brought great spoils and many cows and livestock to their ships’. In 918, Ragnall expanded his base and conducted a successful raid on the Danish Viking city of York; he died in 921 as King of Waterford and York.

Viking Waterford was a triangular structure built on a tidal inlet at the confluence of the St John’s River and the Suir. Foreign vessels trading with Waterford docked at the Suir Quay; only Viking ships had access to the St John River. Viking Waterford was protected by a fort known as Dundory Fort, located close to the site of the present-day Reginald’s Tower. Archaeological evidence suggests that a wide ditch enclosed this fort. A 3m-high bank, 10-11m wide with a wooden walkway and breastwork on top, and a ditch 2m deep enclosed the ground between the two rivers. The triangular-shaped settlement was traversed by three main streets, which ran from east to west and parallel to the river. The most important of these was High Street, which dominated the commercial life of the city, running parallel to it was Peter Street and, further back from the river, Lady Lane. Four shorter streets running from north to south crossed these three streets and all combined to form a regular street pattern. In its Viking phase Waterford city was destroyed at least four times: in 1031, 1037, 1088 and 1111. In 1137 Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster, unsuccessfully attacked the city, leaving much destruction.

Archaeological evidence from digs conducted in the 1980s and 1990s has provided a remarkable insight into the nature of Viking Waterford. Seventy-two sub-rectangular houses, with straight sides and round corners, dating to the eleventh and twelfth century, were unearthed; the majority were single-roomed dwellings with thatched roofs and wattle and daub double-woven walls. A hearth was located in the middle of each floor with the smoke escaping through the door or a hole in the roof.

Oats were the most common grain used for food in Viking Waterford and provided the raw material for porridge, bread and ale. Cattle bones were the most common bones discovered and most of the remainder was pig bone. Sheep and goats were rare with red deer antler forming the raw material for tools and jewellery.

Over time the initially pagan Vikings adopted Christianity and the religious practices of the native Irish. The Vikings worshipped in Christ Church Cathedral, built on the site of the current cathedral, in addition to St Olaf’s and St Peter’s. In 1096 Malchus was consecrated the first Bishop of Waterford.

THE ANGLO-NORMAN MEDIEVAL CITY

Waterford became an Anglo-Norman settlement after the arrival of the English in 1170. A major wall-building programme started in Waterford within a few decades of the English colonisation. The original defences were strengthened during the reign of King John and at least three new stone gates, Coldenbeck Gate, St Martin’s Gate and Arundell Gate, were constructed prior to 1212. Reginald’s Tower was rebuilt and the Norman development to the west of the original city, including Barronstrand Street and John’s Street and a range of irregular narrow streets and lanes that were typical of the medieval period, was enclosed.

The work was funded by a murage grant. These grants were of fixed-term duration and specified what tolls could be charged on incoming goods to fund the wall-building programme. Between 1224 and 1246 three murage grants were granted to fund the building of the walls. The 1243 grant levied a tax of one penny on every 100 salmon, conger and mullet that came through the city gates. A halfpenny was paid on every 100 skins of lambs, kid and squirrel and two pence on every 100 pounds of wax or pepper. The earthen embankments with a palisade fence on top and ditches at the front were replaced by stone walls, gateways and towers so that by the end of the Middle Ages the entire circuit formed a single enclosure. By the mid-1400s the city was defended by fifteen gates and twenty-three mural towers. St John’s Gate to the south and St Patrick’s Gate to the west provided the main points of entry to the city.

The thirteenth century was a time of general prosperity. Waterford experienced an influx of migrants with merchant families settling in the city from England, Wales, Flanders, Italy and western France. Waterford’s sphere of influence expanded significantly as a result as each market brought knowledge of and contact with new places. By the end of the thirteenth century Waterford was a city of significant wealth. At least ten churches were located within the...