The Viking Age Essay Example for Free

The Viking Age Essay The aim of this essay is to critically describe daily life in Viking Ireland in either Dublin or Waterford. For the purpose of this essay I will concentrate on Dublin, as there is a substantial amount of archaeological evidence that was found and excavated by archaeologists. It has been widely recognised from extensive archaeology excavations that Fishamble Street and Winetavern Street as well as High Street were pivotal centres in which the Vikings took residence and went about their daily life (Hall 1990, 25). This essay will look at many different aspects of Viking daily life in Dublin, including their occupational activity, the types of houses they lived in, their burials and the type of objects they traded on a regular basis. This essay will firstly deal with the houses and types of dwellings that the Vikings of Dublin were accustomed to. The major excavations that took place between the years 1961 and 1981 in the areas of Wood Quay and Christchurch (Rosedahl 1982, 229-230). The excavations reveal to us that the normal everyday Viking dweller lived in houses that were mostly composed of wattle and daub (Rosedahl 1982, 230). Other characteristics of the type of house a Dublin Viking would live in was that the shape would always be rectangular accompanied by rounded corners and end walls (Clarke and Simms 1985, 126). The majority of the houses also had small cubicles at either end of the main house. The presence of animal bone shows us that the people of Dublin ate meat. There have been thirteen levels of preservation located on Wood Quay. This has been dated to 920 A. D These houses once they are no use; are knocked down immediately and a new house is built on top of the old one (Rosedahl 1982, 231). People of Viking Age Dublin were very skilled and well-crafted trades people. Many Dublin craftsmen were highly skilled in areas such as the manufacture of bone and antler combs (Clarke and Simms 1985, 134). The bone that was excavated is known to be of the red deer (Rosedahl 1982, 231). These Dublin craftsmen also worked with leather, wooden objects such as the manufacture of ploughs, bone whorls and needles and pins. Archaeological evidence has also shown that the crafts of ship building, bone carving, carpentry and iron manufacture have taken place (Rosedahl 1982, 231). The majority of Viking men would have spent their own daily life manufacturing these and this would have probably been their main source of income. These craftsmen worked with not only the one style, but with many different ones. The Vikings of Dublin also manufactured broad arm rings. This would have mainly taken place for the circulation and storage if timber (Larsen 2001, 57-59). To illustrate the importance of amber working in Viking Age Dublin an amber workshop has been excavated. A wide range of objects have been uncovered including beads, pendants and rings (Clarke and Simms 1984, 136). For the most part they were highly influenced from outside sources (Hall 1990, 26). However the archaeological evidence of Dublin shows us that it was the metalworkers that were possibly one of the most common and important tradesmen. Tongs and hammers that were manufactured by smiths have been found in numerous burials in Kilmainham and Islandbridge (Hall 1990, 58). Also at a site known as Granby Row there have been other metal objects uncovered such as rivets, an iron spearhead and sword. Also two swords, four spearheads, a shield boss and a copper alloy buckle that was thinned were excavated at the College Green site OFloinn 1998, 134-135). Including these trades occupying the daily lives of those in Viking Dublin, there were other activities that were also taking place. Extensive archaeological evidence has been uncovered to suggest that there was a lot of trade and gift exchange taking place as well (Clarke and Simms 1984, 135). Such items that show this include pieces of porphyry from the Italian capital, an exotic ring made of gold that has a red garnet that appears to be Frankish. Also a carved boss made of wood was uncovered, whose origins are from the northern province of Ireland (Clarke and Simms, 135). This archaeological evidence also proves to us that the Vikings lead a reasonable wealthy life or perhaps a very wealthy life, as trading precious objects took place on a regular ongoing basis. In relation to Viking graves and burial customs, there are two main cemeteries in Dublin. These are that of Kilmainham and Island Bridge. It is known that there are 43 furnished burials in all. However Kilmainham is the largest with 30 furnished burials in all. With the substantial amount of grave goods present in both sites it should be said that the Dublin Vikings thought very much of their dead (Larsen 2001, 67). Weapons such as swords, daggers and other inflicting weapons tend to dominate the female graves (Larsen 2001,68). Also for craft and domestic use tanged knives and a range of different buckles have been uncovered, that people used to keep their clothes on. However the most elaborate and decorative item found was that of the Kilmainham brooch (Larsen 2001, 72). It is widely thought that this item is definitely the single richest Viking Age grave good from an Irish context (Larsen 2001, 72). In conclusion this essay has discussed, analysed and described Viking daily life in Dublin. By using the appropriate archaeological evidence one can see how the Vikings of Dublin went about their routine on a daily basis. Also the main themes that this essay has included are that of the Vikings crafts that they done to make a living. This essay also looked at the type of houses, by taking into consideration their size and shape. When writing this essay I also looked at trade and the type of goods that the Dublin Vikings traded and treasured. Through excellent preservation of Viking graves at Islandbridge and Kilmainham this essay took a brief look at Viking graves and what their attitude was to what goods should be buried with males and females. Bibliography Hall, R. 1990. Viking Age Archaeology in Britain and Ireland. Princes Risborough. Larsen, Anne-Christine, 2001. The Vikings in Ireland Roskilde, The Viking Ship Museum. Rosedahl, E.1992. The Vikings. Harmondsworth. Wallace, P. 1985. The Archaeology of Viking Dublin. In H.B. Clarke A. Simms (eds) The Comparative History of Urban Origins in Non-Roman Europe.