The discovery of the body of a Viking woman buried 1,100 years ago with a collection of artefacts is extremely significant, the National Museum of Ireland said today.
National Museum director Dr Patrick Wallace
The find was made last Thursday at a site in Finglas in north Dublin where builders were constructing 48 apartments.
National Museum director Dr Patrick Wallace said an oval brooch that was found with the woman's body was of great historical importance. "It's priceless academically, architecturally and scientifically. It's the first time a brooch of this kind has been found on the island," he said.
The brooch is believed to have come from Scandinavia. Archaeologists also discovered an unusually long bone comb and other copper alloy ornaments. Dr Wallace said the presence of the brooch indicated the woman may have come from the upper echelon of Viking society.
"Is she a pure Scandinavian woman - a Viking who came home? Or an Irish woman who mattered a lot to a wealthy Viking?"
Her skeleton was found almost completely intact but the bones from the knees down were missing due to previous pipe laying. "She didn't feel any of the pain. She was 1,000 years old," Dr Wallace said.
Archaeologists are continuing the excavations at the site in Finglas - which is close to an area called St Patrick's Wells. Guards are maintaining 24-hour security around the 70-by-40-metre site to prevent vandals interfering with it.