26/02/2026
A reminder of an event organised by our good friends at Dublinia taking place Friday 27th March. Bringing together a number of experts this is sure to be a fascinating event. Be sure to secure your tickets!
A Settlement on the Suir: New Insights into Viking Woodstown
A Ticketed Public Lecture
Discover the extraordinary story of Viking Woodstown, one of Ireland’s most significant early medieval sites. First uncovered in 2003 on the banks of the River Suir, Woodstown revealed traces of a substantial Viking stronghold—massive defensive ditches, a dwelling, and clear evidence of craftworking, trade, and daily life. These early excavations identified the site as a longphort, a Viking overwintering camp of exceptional scale.
Since 2020, a major new research project has transformed our understanding of this remarkable settlement. Using cutting-edge geophysical surveys led by experts in Ireland and Norway, researchers have uncovered striking new details about the size, layout, and development of the site. Their findings shed fresh light on how the Vikings organised this riverside stronghold and raise new questions about whether Woodstown was truly temporary—or a community with longer-term ambitions.
Join us for a fascinating, richly illustrated lecture exploring the latest discoveries and the international collaborations behind them. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain an insider’s view of a site reshaping our understanding of the Viking world.
When: Friday the 27th of March from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, Q & A from 7.00pm to 7.30pm led by Archaeologist Linzi Simpson with wine reception to follow.
Where: Dublinia Viking and Medieval Museum
Tickets: Tickets cost €15 and can be booked here https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-story-of-viking-woodstown-tickets-1976608868334?aff=oddtdtcreator&_eboga=1070593453.1759991975
Neil Jackman is an archaeologist and director of Abarta Heritage. Neil has a particular interest in early medieval Ireland and in public and community archaeology, a subject he has lectured in for UCD School of Archaeology. Neil authored the Conservation Management Plan for the Woodstown Viking Site in 2020, and project-manages the monument on behalf of Waterford City and County Council and an expert steering committee. Neil will be joined in the Q&A by Dr Susan Curran, lead geophysicist with the Discovery Programme, who has led a number of surveys at Woodstown.
Professor Clare Downham studied at St Andrews and Cambridge. She worked as a research scholar in Dublin and as a lecturer in Celtic and History in Aberdeen before starting at Liverpool in 2010. Her publications have focused on Viking Age history and contact across the Irish Sea in the Middle Ages. Her most recent book ‘Medieval Ireland AD400-1500’ was published by Cambridge University Press. She is currently under contract with Penguin Classics to produce a volume on Viking Age Britain and Ireland.
Viking Woodstown revealed a vast longphort; surveys show a complex, evolving site. Join us to explore fresh insights into its true nature.
