| | Viking Dublin the 9th century evidence |
 | | These two large-scale excavations, the former in the north-east corner of the tenth century settlement, the latter outside this settlement on the south-eastern side, have finally begun to produce evidence that sheds light on the early development of ninth-century Dublin, a subject we know relatively little about (Figs 1 and 2). |
 | | According to contemporary Irish annalistic sources, the Vikings first appear raiding along the Irish coast in the late eighth century but these initial raids were confined to the maritime settlements and there was little penetration inland (Mac Shamhráin 2002, 43-5). |
 | | The evidence, however, suggests that the earliest levels in the historic core can be dated to the tenth century and no earlier and are therefore related to the documented ‘return’ of the expelled Vikings in AD 902 rather than the initial establishment of the ship fortress or longphort in AD 841. |
| www.mglarc.com /projects/viking_dublin.htm (680 words) |