Backstage With Eric The Red

The Rape And Pillage Tour '95 made a stop in the UK, and played a few nights in Ireland. Who knew that it would be a favorite venue?

In their brutal road trip across most of the ninth century, Vikings eventually established two outposts in Ireland. The first location, Dúbh Linn, persevered and is known as Dublin. The other was lost in time...possibly until just recently.

Linn Duchaill had been an archaeological mystery, but just last week a settlement had been found 45 miles north of Dublin, in the village of Annagassan. Could that be it? The locals had long spoke of Viking raids dating back to 795 AD and a nearby lost settlement, backed up by an occasional discovery, like ancient handcuffs Vikings would have used on their slaves. In 2005, the search began, but it, and it wasn't until 2007 that they discovered a flat area upriver from Annagassan that could have been used for shipbuilding. With the help of a geophysicist (who was probably waiting for something to do - when have you heard of a geophysicist), a bunch of defensive ditches about fifteen feet deep were found.

The ditches were arranged in straight lines and didn't fit with the circular patterns of ring forts built by medieval Irishmen, and there was no evidence of a Norman castles. Excavations turned up 200 Viking attributed artifacts in about three short weeks. The settlement was big, and they had evidence of shipbuilding, carpentry, smelting, and even an artificial island that would have been used for defense (against the damn locals).

Archaeologists are hopeful that that they have found Linn Duchaill, though it would be known for sure until the artifacts are dated. But why did Dúbh Linn eventually become Ireland's most well known city, and Linn Duchaill disappeared? The scholars believe it had to do with access to the sea - Dublin enjoys pretty much constant access to the ocean, providing Vikings with an escape hatch if they were attacked. Linn Duchaill is blocked off from the sea for hours daily because of shifting tides, which could have made the outpost a deathtrap for the helmetheads.