The York-Dublin Axis Reconsidered - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Viking Towns
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Humanities
Abstract
This project will create an interdisciplinary network of scholars and heritage professionals who share interests in Britain and Ireland's two greatest Viking towns; York and Dublin. It will foster and enhance interdisciplinary, international collaborative research, heritage management practice, public outreach and creative enterprise.
Since the 1970s, a new appreciation of the role of towns, urbanisation and trade has transformed our understanding of the Viking Age from Scandinavia to Russia, as well as in Britain and Ireland. Although international trading and manufacturing sites played crucially important economic, political and social roles, they were also relatively rare - no more than a dozen are known from across the Viking world.
In this context, Dublin and York - by far the best documented and best excavated urban centres in the Viking West - are of exceptional international importance. Contemporary sources are relatively well-studied, and half a century of urban excavations has produced exceptional evidence. The towns constitute vital resources for archaeologists and heritage professionals alike, but with some exceptions, communication and collaboration between specialists and practitioners, and between the two modern cities, has been limited.
This lack of communication between contemporary professionals is particularly significant because the political relationship between Viking York and Dublin was once very close: they shared a ruling dynasty, the 'grandsons of Ivarr', for a significant period in the 9th and 10th centuries. However, the impact of this political link on the social and economic development of the two towns is under-researched and largely unrecognised by the public.
Our understanding of life in Viking-Age York and Dublin has been transformed by archaeological research, but this has developed in subtly different ways in each city, and has not always informed discussions of broader historical narratives. New scientific methods and interpretative models offer huge potential for future research, and new systems of data management and public outreach offer both challenges and opportunities.
Our network will bring together academics, field archaeologists, artefact specialists, heritage professionals, and public historians and archaeologists to explore the relationship between the two towns in this seminal period, comparing and contrasting the relationships between the living cities and their Viking heritage. How close - or different - is the evidence they have produced? How can new research techniques inform our understanding of systems of trade, manufacturing and economy? Does this transform long-standing models of the cities' development? Can the research and management experiences of each city inform best practice? Can the cities benefit from shared approaches to new digital technologies? And how can new discoveries best be communicated to the general public? Our workshops will provide a forum to plan future activity, and an authentic platform for meaningful public engagement.
Our key aims are to re-examine the evidence in detail, to situate this evidence in its broader context, and to consider the potential for future collaboration. To this end, we will organise three workshops. The first, 'New Evidence' (York Spring 2021) will provide a forum for new research; the second 'New Approaches (Dublin Autumn 2021) will challenge existing models of urban development; and the third, 'New Engagements' (Dublin Spring 2022) will examine the relationship between the modern cities and their Viking past. A strategy document will be produced, and the results will be disseminated in a range of media.
By stimulating discussion between key stakeholders and knowledge-makers, this project will reinvigorate the study of both Viking towns, draw fresh attention to the connections between them, reengage with debates on Viking-Age urbanism, and lay the groundwork for future research and outreach.
Since the 1970s, a new appreciation of the role of towns, urbanisation and trade has transformed our understanding of the Viking Age from Scandinavia to Russia, as well as in Britain and Ireland. Although international trading and manufacturing sites played crucially important economic, political and social roles, they were also relatively rare - no more than a dozen are known from across the Viking world.
In this context, Dublin and York - by far the best documented and best excavated urban centres in the Viking West - are of exceptional international importance. Contemporary sources are relatively well-studied, and half a century of urban excavations has produced exceptional evidence. The towns constitute vital resources for archaeologists and heritage professionals alike, but with some exceptions, communication and collaboration between specialists and practitioners, and between the two modern cities, has been limited.
This lack of communication between contemporary professionals is particularly significant because the political relationship between Viking York and Dublin was once very close: they shared a ruling dynasty, the 'grandsons of Ivarr', for a significant period in the 9th and 10th centuries. However, the impact of this political link on the social and economic development of the two towns is under-researched and largely unrecognised by the public.
Our understanding of life in Viking-Age York and Dublin has been transformed by archaeological research, but this has developed in subtly different ways in each city, and has not always informed discussions of broader historical narratives. New scientific methods and interpretative models offer huge potential for future research, and new systems of data management and public outreach offer both challenges and opportunities.
Our network will bring together academics, field archaeologists, artefact specialists, heritage professionals, and public historians and archaeologists to explore the relationship between the two towns in this seminal period, comparing and contrasting the relationships between the living cities and their Viking heritage. How close - or different - is the evidence they have produced? How can new research techniques inform our understanding of systems of trade, manufacturing and economy? Does this transform long-standing models of the cities' development? Can the research and management experiences of each city inform best practice? Can the cities benefit from shared approaches to new digital technologies? And how can new discoveries best be communicated to the general public? Our workshops will provide a forum to plan future activity, and an authentic platform for meaningful public engagement.
Our key aims are to re-examine the evidence in detail, to situate this evidence in its broader context, and to consider the potential for future collaboration. To this end, we will organise three workshops. The first, 'New Evidence' (York Spring 2021) will provide a forum for new research; the second 'New Approaches (Dublin Autumn 2021) will challenge existing models of urban development; and the third, 'New Engagements' (Dublin Spring 2022) will examine the relationship between the modern cities and their Viking past. A strategy document will be produced, and the results will be disseminated in a range of media.
By stimulating discussion between key stakeholders and knowledge-makers, this project will reinvigorate the study of both Viking towns, draw fresh attention to the connections between them, reengage with debates on Viking-Age urbanism, and lay the groundwork for future research and outreach.
Planned Impact
This network will bring together key researchers and heritage professionals to share cutting-edge research on the two towns; challenge long-established interpretative frameworks; plan new research using new evidence, technologies and approaches; and inform future heritage management and outreach activities in the light of this information.
The following organisations have produced statements of support - City of York Council, Dublin City Council, the National University of Ireland, York Archaeological Trust and York Museums Trust. Together with the Glasgow and York Universities - the two leading institutions for Viking archaeology in Britain - these stakeholders are represented on the steering group, and ideally situated to maximise professional and public impact. The research and engagement strategy document will inform future activity, and address shared concerns about ongoing and future publication and dissemination of excavation results.
Heritage Management, Cultural Policy and Local Government
Dr Ruth Johnson is the Dublin City Archaeologist. She holds a PhD in the archaeology of Viking Dublin, and has been in post for almost twenty years. Her counterpart in City of York Council is Claire MacRae. Both councils, and these archaeologists, play key roles in planning and heritage management. Networking discussions, and the strategy document, will inform future heritage management in both cities, identifying research priorities in future development-driven excavations.
Public Sector Agencies
The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is the legal repository for more than 200,000 artefacts from Viking Dublin and led a number of key excavations in the city in the past, notably at Wood Quay. There is no equivalent public sector agency in York, with excavation being undertaken by York Archaeological Trust (YAT) and storage and displaying undertaken by YAT and York Museums Trust (YMT), both Museum/Third Sector institutions. The network will link equivalent staff at these institutions, promoting collaboration across these administrative and international boundaries.
Museums & the Third Sector
YAT, represented on the steering group by Chris Tuckley, has played a fundamental role in the excavation, archiving and publication of York's Viking archaeology for more than forty years, and has developed JORVIK, a world-leading public outreach body. Dr Andy Woods is a senior curator at Yorkshire Museum (YMT), which is the repository for finds from York. Neither YMT nor YAT has a direct equivalent in Dublin, but the network will link staff to equivalent personnel in the NMI, in Dublin's independent commercial archaeology sector, and in Dublinia, the museum of medieval Dublin.
The group will pay particular attention to the potential for a specialised museum of Viking Dublin, in which the huge assemblages recovered since the 1970s - currently in the NMI (above) - can be stored and displayed for research, education and tourism. Field trips will bring network members to the NMI, YMT, and to JORVIK and Dublinia, while digital archaeologists will demonstrate the potential of new techniques in workshops.
Commercial Sector
Since the late 1980s, excavations in Dublin have been carried out by a number of commercial companies. A key figure has been Linzi Simpson, who will be part of the networking group, and who will have the opportunity to engage with excavation directors in YAT. Others will be encouraged to contribute to the network, as appropriate.
The role of new research in tourism will be explored through liaison with the existing 'Destination Viking' group, of which Drs Johnson and Purcell are already members
Local Communities & the Wider Public
Key project results will be presented in British and Irish popular archaeology magazines, through the website, and directly to groups in York, Dublin and further afield. Each workshop is planned to coincide with a public history outreach event, at which an outreach paper will be presented.
The following organisations have produced statements of support - City of York Council, Dublin City Council, the National University of Ireland, York Archaeological Trust and York Museums Trust. Together with the Glasgow and York Universities - the two leading institutions for Viking archaeology in Britain - these stakeholders are represented on the steering group, and ideally situated to maximise professional and public impact. The research and engagement strategy document will inform future activity, and address shared concerns about ongoing and future publication and dissemination of excavation results.
Heritage Management, Cultural Policy and Local Government
Dr Ruth Johnson is the Dublin City Archaeologist. She holds a PhD in the archaeology of Viking Dublin, and has been in post for almost twenty years. Her counterpart in City of York Council is Claire MacRae. Both councils, and these archaeologists, play key roles in planning and heritage management. Networking discussions, and the strategy document, will inform future heritage management in both cities, identifying research priorities in future development-driven excavations.
Public Sector Agencies
The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is the legal repository for more than 200,000 artefacts from Viking Dublin and led a number of key excavations in the city in the past, notably at Wood Quay. There is no equivalent public sector agency in York, with excavation being undertaken by York Archaeological Trust (YAT) and storage and displaying undertaken by YAT and York Museums Trust (YMT), both Museum/Third Sector institutions. The network will link equivalent staff at these institutions, promoting collaboration across these administrative and international boundaries.
Museums & the Third Sector
YAT, represented on the steering group by Chris Tuckley, has played a fundamental role in the excavation, archiving and publication of York's Viking archaeology for more than forty years, and has developed JORVIK, a world-leading public outreach body. Dr Andy Woods is a senior curator at Yorkshire Museum (YMT), which is the repository for finds from York. Neither YMT nor YAT has a direct equivalent in Dublin, but the network will link staff to equivalent personnel in the NMI, in Dublin's independent commercial archaeology sector, and in Dublinia, the museum of medieval Dublin.
The group will pay particular attention to the potential for a specialised museum of Viking Dublin, in which the huge assemblages recovered since the 1970s - currently in the NMI (above) - can be stored and displayed for research, education and tourism. Field trips will bring network members to the NMI, YMT, and to JORVIK and Dublinia, while digital archaeologists will demonstrate the potential of new techniques in workshops.
Commercial Sector
Since the late 1980s, excavations in Dublin have been carried out by a number of commercial companies. A key figure has been Linzi Simpson, who will be part of the networking group, and who will have the opportunity to engage with excavation directors in YAT. Others will be encouraged to contribute to the network, as appropriate.
The role of new research in tourism will be explored through liaison with the existing 'Destination Viking' group, of which Drs Johnson and Purcell are already members
Local Communities & the Wider Public
Key project results will be presented in British and Irish popular archaeology magazines, through the website, and directly to groups in York, Dublin and further afield. Each workshop is planned to coincide with a public history outreach event, at which an outreach paper will be presented.
| Description | The York-Dublin Axis Project was set up to establish a network of academics and heritage professionals with shared interests in the Viking towns of York and Dublin, and the relationship between them. In that regard, the project has exceeded all original expectations. The project was conceived before the pandemic, when the concept of online and hybrid conferences were relatively undeveloped. As a result, original plans focused on workshops that were entirely in-person, with physical attendance limited by the travel budget. Due to lockdown restrictions, the first workshop was held entirely online, while the second and third became hybrid events, and this allowed us to expand the size of the network, from an original shortlist of approximately 35 people, not all of whom would be able to attend every conference, to a current total of 65 people, representing five Irish, six UK and two international universities, and five additional institutions engaged with the management of, research on, or presentation of one or other city. This was in addition to our 'core' group of the five institutions most directly concerned with heritage management in York and Dublin. The opportunity for key practitioners, such as the York and Dublin city archaeologists, to meet in person for the first time, was fundamental to the project, but we also benefitted enormously from contributions by online attendees, both presenters and discussants. We plan to continue the network online into the future. As hoped, the workshops provided an opportunity to present new methods of research and heritage management to this expanded network, particularly in workshop 2, and there was extended discussion on their effective use, from a range of perspectives. This will feed into a planned future publication derived from the project, as well as the strategy document. The workshops also reconsidered the value of more traditional approaches to the history and archaeology of the two settlements (workshop 1), and identified a number of areas of research priorities (below). Careful attention was also paid to the potential for public-facing events, considering a range of new digital techniques as well as more traditional mechanisms for public engagement and dissemination (workshop 3). All three workshops were accompanied by public-facing lectures on key aspects of the history of the two cities, although one of these became chronologically separated, due to Covid restrictions. These lectures were by leaders in their fields, speaking on themes that linked the two cities, or which called for direct comparison of evidence and interpretation between them, and they attracted substantial audiences, not least because they were successfully linked to major public history events (hence the disparity with one of these). These public lectures have also begun the process of expanding public awareness of the links between the two towns in the Early Viking Age, and reinforcing the significance of their Viking heritage. We have begun the process of drawing together a strategy document in direct consultation with key stakeholders, and plan to release the finished document this autumn. An appendix to this strategy document will list potential research projects at a range of different scales, and the collaborators plan to develop a medium to large scale project application based on this list in the medium term. As a public document, it is hoped that the strategy document and its appendix will inspire others to engage with the history of the two settlements at a range of levels. |
| Exploitation Route | As already noted, the draft strategy document presents key findings of the network, and identifies a range of priorities for research, some relevant to one or other modern city, some relevant to both, and some targeting the relationship between them. These include, but are not restricted to: the origins of these settlements as towns and their relationship to preceding military bases; the significance of historiography in the study of the settlements and their relationships; the mechanisms of communication between the two towns; the potential for direct comparison of evidence between York and Dublin; and the need for a new programme of research based around environmental evidence. We hope that some recommendations will feed into heritage management policy, influencing the ways in which future excavations are conducted, while others will inform public engagement strategies. This is in addition to the list of proposals for future research in the appendix to the strategy document, which we hope will inform future academic projects at a range of scales, from UG, PGT and PGR theses to major funded projects by members of the network and others. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | While the process of presenting findings to a wider audience is just beginning, members of the network are already reporting informally that presentations at various workshops are informing best practice in a wide range of contexts, including heritage management in the two cities. Efforts will be made to record this data in more detail going forward. Public-facing presentations on aspects of the project are also informing the wider public on the importance of the Viking heritage of the two cities, and introducing them to the significance of the links between them, particularly in the early Viking Age. We expect this process to gain pace with the publication of the strategy document, planned for this autumn. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Description | 'The York-Dublin Axis Revisited'. Joint presentation by Drs S Ashby and S Harrison at the York Archaeology Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 13 November 2021, S Harrison (PI) and S Ashby (Co-I) presented a paper to the York Archaeology Conference on the 'The York-Dublin Axis Revisited'. This was designed to present the aims and objectives of the Project to a local and engaged audience in York, as well as to make public some of the initial, broad findings of the first workshop, which had been held at the beginning of the previous month. It was not a planned output at the time when the Project was developed, but rather grew out of general interest in the project in York. The York Archaeology Conference is normally an in-person event, but was held online due to Covid restrictions. It is understood that the majority of the audience were from York, but with some interested parties listening in from further afield. There were also a significant number of professional practitioners in the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | 'Viking Age York'. Paper by Prof Julian Richards delivered as part of Project Workshop 1 / Dublin History Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 30 September 2021, Prof Julian Richards (York) gave a paper to a general audience as part of the Dublin History Festival. This paper took place on the day before the first Workshop of the York-Dublin Axis Project. The workshop groups are relatively small and invites focus on academics, field practitioners and heritage managers, so this paper provided an opportunity to make the wider public aware of the project and its aims. As part of the network-building of the project, we aim to make the general public in both cities more aware of the 'Viking' heritage of the other urban centre. Prof Richards paper presented cutting-edge research, particularly on the early phases of Viking York, to an interested general audience dominated by participants from Dublin, but with listeners from around the world. Originally, this lecture was planned as a liver event, to be delivered in person by Prof Richards on the evening before the first workshop in Dublin, but Covid restrictions meant that it, and indeed the workshop, had to be held online. Although some aspects of this engagement exercise had to be curtailed as a result, the online audience was undoubtedly larger than that which would have attended in person, and feedback (in the form of emails and social media) was positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Preliminary Report on York-Dublin Axis Project, Viking Congress, 24 July 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At the Nineteenth Viking Congress, held in Liverpool in July 2022, the PI and Co-I gave a joint paper on the project entitled 'The York-Dublin Axis Project - A Preliminary Report'. The Viking Congress, held once every four years, is the one of the most important international and interdisciplinary conferences on Viking studies, and was an ideal venue to present initial findings following the first two workshops. The presentation generated considerable interest and debate among the international community, and provided an opportunity to compare our findings to comparable research in Scandinavia in particular. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Public-facing Lecture in association with workshop 3, 6 October 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Due to illness, Dr Edel Bhreathnach agreed, at very short notice, to provide a public-facing lecture on 'Caves, Woods and Crosses: Scandinavian Beliefs / Religion in early Ireland'. It was a hybrid event, with a fully booked lecture theatre, and a significant online attendance, and was held in conjunction both with the third workshop and the Dublin History Festival. The theme, while Irish-focused, was directly relevant to early York as well, and stimulated considerable discussion among the academics attending the event, as well as among the public audience for whom it was intended. It provided an opportunity to publicise the project and workshop 3 to a wider audience, and reflects the project's commitment to present new research to a general audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Steering Group Meeting for Strategy Document Discussion - 2-3 February 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 2-3 February 2023, the seven-person steering group met in York to discuss the outline of the research and engagement strategy document, a key output of the York-Dublin axis project. Together, we represented a range of UK and Irish heritage organisations, including Dublin and York City Councils, York Archaeological Trust and York Museums Trust. Unfortunately, an invited National Museum of Ireland representative had to withdraw at the last minute for personal reasons, but this institution will play an important role in the development of the strategy document. At the meeting, key areas of the document were outlined, as was a provisional list of future projects. The steering group agreed that the strategy document must be collaborative, and a draft will be circulated to all members of the network over the summer, with a view to public release this autumn. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | York-Dublin Axis Project Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A website on the project, developed by the Co-I, Dr Steve Ashby. The website is designed to present the intentions and outputs of the project to a general audience, and will be added to as the project progresses. At present, it has sections on the project aims and framework, the steering committee, project partners, and workshops, including a general summary of workshop 1. As project outputs are produced and developed, these will be added to the basic framework of the website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://vikingaxis.wixsite.com/dublinyork |
| Description | York-Dublin Axis Project Workshop 1 - 1 October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop 1, rescheduled and transferred to online format as a result of pandemic travel restrictions, was held on 1 October 2021. It was difficult to organise a networking event designed to bring together academic specialists, field archaeologists and heritage managers online, but one key benefit was the fact that we were able to draw together a much larger pool of attendees than was originally planned (37 attendees, rather than original 24). The geograpical spread of attendees was also wider than planned, with 15 UK attendees, 15 Irish attendees, 4 International attendees, and three 'guests'. The theme of this first workshop was ' Frameworks - Reflections on Past and Ongoing Research - Historical, Archaeological and Other'. The day was organised around a series of short (10-15 minute) presentations, followed by 10-15 minutes of discussion and debate. Speakers included the PI and Co-I, C. Downham, D. Griffiths, F. Edmonds, A. Mainman, L. Simpson, J. Sheehan, G. Murray. At the end of the workshop, a questionnaire was circulated to all delegates to gather additional comments. A number of significant differences between scholarship on Dublin and York were identified, as were some key areas of potential future research for both cities. These included the landscape and communication networks between York and Dublin, and the importance of new scientific approaches to excavation. Series of short presentations with extended period for discussion. Presentations from, on. Key findings - areas requiring future research - mechanisms of communcation and landscapes between cities, differences in scales of analysis and frames of reference, complexity of hybrid urban identity. Very useful framework for two future workshops. Major output of the Project up to 17.iii.2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | York-Dublin Axis Project Workshop 2, 17 June 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The second workshop of the York-Dublin Axis Project took place in York, later than originally planned due to Covid restrictions. It was a hybrid event, with 29 delegates attending in person and a further 21 online. The majority of attendees were based in the UK or Ireland, with two international attendees (from Denmark and the US). Eleven papers were presented on the theme of 'New Evidence and New Approaches', and these led to extensive discussion and dialogue at the event and afterwards. Themes considered included: historical narratives; identity; comparative work in Scandinavia; the role of DNA; and specific case-studies comparing the evidence from York and Dublin (housing, burial and manufacturing). Feedback from attendees, both in person and online, was very positive, and results fed directly into the first strategy discussion meeting in February 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | York-Dublin Axis Project Workshop 3, 7 October 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The third and final planned workshop of the York-Dublin Axis Project took place in Dublin in October, several months later than originally planned due to Covid restrictions for the preceding workshop. It was hosted by the National University of Ireland, a collaborating institution of the project. A total of 41 people attended this event, 26 in person and 15 online. Nine papers were presented on the theme of 'New Engagements'. Topics covered included resource management in York and Dublin; the role of York Archaeological Trust in research and excavation at York; the role of Jorvik as a flagship public engagement vessel; the use of technology in public engagement; the future of urban excavation publication; and potential strategies for managing excavation publication backlog. Discussion was almost uniformly collegiate and positive, and we were delighted to have representatives from a number of Irish public bodies outwith our key collaborators, including the Discovery Programme, the National Monuments Service, and the National Museum of Ireland. Feedback from delegates, both in person and online, was overwhelmingly positive, with a keen interest in the future direct of research dissemination and engagement. This workshop fed directly into the steering group event held last February. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |