This volume contains reports on a number of important archaeological
excavations in the Dublin area in recent years, including: Claire
Walsh's discovery of a medieval property plot at Back Lane, which
contained the remains of Hiberno-Norse and Anglo-Norman houses; Paul
Duffy's excavations at Baldoyle that produced evidence of metalworking,
cereal processing, animal husbandry and coastal foraging from the Viking
Age onwards; and Edmond O'Donovan's discovery of a large early Christian
cemetery at Mount Gamble in Swords. To accompany his detailed report on
the latter the volume includes an important study of the ecclesiastical
and political history of the Swords area written by the late Ailbhe
MacShamhrain. Also of note: Matthew Stout reconsiders the evidence for
Dublin's situation vis-a-vis the road network of ancient Ireland; Pat
Wallace discusses the role of women in Viking-Age Dublin; Daniel Brown
has a fascinating account of what happened in 1223 when Hugh de Lacy,
the dispossessed earl of Ulster, raised a rebel army and marched on
Dublin; and, to mark the 700th anniversary of the Scottish invasion of
Ireland by Edward Bruce in 1315, we include a hitherto-unpublished essay
by the late Professor James Lydon on the Scottish threat to capture
Dublin. (Series: Medieval Dublin, Vol. 15) [Subject: Medieval History,
Archaeology, Irish History, Vikings, Dublin]
