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

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

longphort A longphort (Ir. plur. ''longphuirt'') is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosureConnolly S.J (1998). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 580 or shore fortress. Although these ''longphorts'' were used as ...

near the village of

Annagassan Annagassan ()"Annagassan" A Dictionary of British Place-Names. A. D. Mills. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Solihull Libraries. 16 April 2008 is a village in the townland of Ballynagassan, County ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) 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, M ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

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

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. 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 ...

, 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, 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 ( Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th cen ...

, but was taken prisoner in 843 by

Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid Máel Sechnaill mac Máel Ruanaida (Modern Irish: ''Maolsheachlann Mac Maolruanaidh''), also known as Máel Sechnaill I, anglicised as Malachy MacMulrooney (died 27 November 862) was High King of Ireland. The Annals of Ulster use the Old Irish ti ...

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 physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

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 or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

. 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 Lisnaran Fort is a ringfort (rath) and National Monument located in County Louth, Ireland. Location Lisnaran Fort is located outside Annagassan, near the meeting-point of the River Glyde and River Dee. History Lisnaran contains the remains ...

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