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A Viking fortress of international importance has been uncovered at Annagassan, Co Louth. It is believed to be the longphort (ship fortress) of Linn Duchaill, founded in AD 841 -- the same year as Viking Dublin... A defensive rampart, consisting of a deep ditch and a bank, was excavated and, while the results of radio carbon tests are awaited to confirm the date, it "has all the appearances of the main fortification of the Viking fortress," he said. The excavations have also uncovered part of a human skull, a whorl for spinning thread and a brooch pin. Dr Pat Wallace,...

A windswept barley field just south of Dundalk seems an unlikely spot for Ireland's capital.But if things had been different, Annagassan near Castlebellingham might have been the principal city on the island of Ireland. Twelve hundred years ago it was the site of Linn Duchaill, one of the first Viking settlements, which rivalled Dublin in size and importance. Folklore said it was there, but all traces of it had disappeared, until a group of archaeologists and local historians set out to prove its existence. Extensive field research and test digs have now done that. What they found was a huge...