Have you ever wondered what life was like in Viking Age Ireland. In this fascinating discussion with Dr Rebecca Boyd, we walk the streets of Viking Dublin to discuss houses, towns and trade.

In the year AD 795, Ireland’s Viking Age begins with a bloody raid on our coastal monasteries. Over the centuries, the Vikings changed from raiders to traders, and developed our first true urban centres. Their legacy is all around us today, especially if you live in one of their towns – like Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick or Wexford. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had the opportunity to discuss life in Viking Age Ireland with Dr Rebecca Boyd.

Rebecca has been carrying fascinating research looking at the architectural evidence from the Viking excavations of Dublin, Cork and Waterford to tell a new story about the beginnings of urbanism in Ireland. The chat ranges from an overview of the Viking Age to the development of our towns, what a typical Viking house would have been like to life in 10th century Dublin. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Viking Age Ireland – Key Discussion Points

• Rebecca gives an overview of the story of the Vikings in Ireland – 1 min 20 secs
• What drew Rebecca to study the Viking Age? – 6 min 49 secs
• And what was it about the environmental and everyday life of Viking Ireland that Rebecca found compelling? – 10 min 04 secs
• If we were to walk down a street in Viking Dublin, what would we experience, see and smell? – 12 min 37 secs
• What would a typical Viking street be made of? – 17 min 01 secs
• Who was responsible for the upkeep of the streets in Viking Dublin? – 19 min 15 secs
• What was a typical Viking house like? How big, what were they made of, and what sort of privacy was there? – 21 min 15 secs
• Were the houses themselves just for sleeping and eating in? How was the space used? – 27 min 03 secs
• What was life like for the elite and the poor? How were their houses different?  – 30 min 25 secs
• What was life like for a slave in Viking Age Ireland? – 34 min 15 secs
• What sorts of evidence do we have that inform us of life in the Viking Age? – 39 mins
• Wood Quay and its legacy – 42 mins
• How does the approach to Viking studies in Ireland compare with other countries that share similar heritage? – 47 min 35 secs
• The importance of archival focused research projects – 54 mins 15 secs
• The Vikings as a historical ‘brand’ – 58 min 10 secs
• Viking tourism in Ireland – how the public can interact with our Viking heritage. – 1 hour 01 mins 37 secs
• Rebecca tells us about her exciting forthcoming publication Exploring Ireland’s Viking-Age Towns: Houses and Homes – 1 hour 06 mins 51 secs
• What should people think differently about the Vikings? – 1 hour 08 mins 48 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• Be sure to subscribe to Rebecca’s podcast Viking Age Environments. It is available on various podcast platforms, but you can find the best information on her website here.
• Rebecca’s book is imminent and I cannot wait! It is called Exploring Ireland’s Viking-Age Towns: Houses and Homes and I’ll add a link as soon as it is available for purchase.
• There’s a fantastic Walking Tour and Activity Book on Viking Dublin, it’s by Rosalind Bonté, Eleanor Jackson, Maria Teresa Ramandi, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Rebecca Boyd and Erin Goeres. Guided by Aoife the Archaeologist, you can take a stroll around the streets of modern Dublin and learn about the Viking remains beneath your feet. You can download it for free here.
• Rebecca’s Academia profile and list of papers (including many on Viking Age Ireland) can be found here.
• Eat the Viking streets of Dublin: a blog post by Rebecca about the environment of Viking Dublin is available here.
• Did Ireland’s first Vikings really have black hair? Find out here.
• Find out how blood thirsty Vikings became the stars of Irish tourism in Rebecca’s article for RTÉ Brainstorm here.
• Also on Brainstorm, Rebecca discusses the far-reaching effects the Vikings had when they settled down. You can find that here.
• We have a free audiobook about the remarkable discovery of a Viking longphort at Woodstown in County Waterford. It’s on all podcast platforms, find it here.
• You can also find the Conservation Management Plan that we wrote for Woodstown here.
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. Online courses, places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here.