Linn Duachaill (; "Duachall's pool") is the name of a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

longphort near the village of Annagassan,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The settlement was built in 841 CE, the same time as the settlement of ''Dubh Linn'', or

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. In contrast to Dublin, the settlement was abandoned. It has been argued that possibly because of changing tidal patterns, it lacked continuous access to the sea. The tides would have made access to the water difficult for a number of hours per day.

History

The longphort of Linn Duachaill is first mentioned in Irish annals of the 840s. A certain Tergeis or

Turgesius Turgesius (died 845) (also called Turgeis, Tuirgeis, Turges, and Thorgest) was a Viking chief active in Ireland during the 9th century. Turgesius Island, the principal island on Lough Lene, is named after him. It is not at all clear whether the na ...

, as he is called in the annals, is said to have founded forts at Dubh Linn and Linn Duachaill, from which the "surrounding territories and churches were plundered and preyed."

Walter Alison Phillips Walter Alison Phillips (21 October 1864 – 28 October 1950) was an English historian, a specialist in the history of Europe in the 19th century. From 1914 to 1939 he was the first holder of the Lecky chair of History in Trinity College Dubli ...

, ed., ''History of the Church of Ireland: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day'', Volume 2 ''Movement Towards Rome: The Medieval Church and the Reformation'', Oxford University Press, 1934, OCLC 606118054
p. 3
This Turgesius was a colourful figure: he apparently brought the north of Ireland under his rule and enthroned his wife on the high altar of the cathedral at the monastery of

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...

, but was taken prisoner in 843 by Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid and drowned in Loch Nar.

Site discovery

The archeological site of Linn Duachaill was discovered in 2010 on a flat area on the River Glyde, after a team of archeologists and a

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

had searched from 2005 to 2007 and found a pattern of straight ditches, unlike the usually circular forts built by the native population. The initial drive for the excavation came from a local filmmaker, Ruth Cassidy, member of the local historical society. The announcement that the finds were identified as Linn Duachaill was made in September 2010. Since the site is on agricultural land, it is very well preserved. Three test trenches were dug. The team, headed by archeologist Mark Clinton, excavated a "defensive rampart, consisting of a deep ditch and a bank." This wall would have protected the fort on one side, while the other sides would have been protected by the River Glyde and the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. Objects found include "Viking ship rivets, cut-up Viking silver and looted Irish metalwork," besides "part of a human skull, a whorl for spinning thread and a brooch pin." The nearby hillfort Lisnaran Fort was traditionally associated with Linn Duachaill, although it is also claimed that Lisnaran is Gaelic rather than Viking.

References

{{coord, 53.8888, N, 6.3578, W, source:wikidata, display=title Archaeological sites in County Louth Viking Age populated places Medieval sites in Ireland