Woodstown
The historic settlement of Woodstown is located on the southern bank of the River Suir, about 3.5 miles west of Waterford City, in the South East of Ireland, and measures 1.5km by 0.5km.
9th Century Viking Settlement at Woodstown
NRA (Irelands National Roads Authority) reports based on excavations in April and August 2003 suggest that the site found at Woodstown is a defended, riverside settlement with evidence of industrial activity, most likely dating from the period - 800 to 1000 AD.
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 ninth century Viking settlement in Western Europe.
5th Century Iron Age Settlement at Woodstown
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.
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