Dublin, famous for its Viking origins, has just made new discoveries about its history. During archaeological digs carried out in early 2020, researchers learned more about the famous and legendary “Black Pond”, where Vikings once established their first settlement on its shores.
Known as “Dubh Linn” in Gaelic, this pond would later give its name to the Dublin capital we know today. This pond, which has now disappeared, would have been a basin of the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey (a river which today flows right through Dublin).
Recent excavations in the vicinity of Dublin Castle and St Michael of the Pool (a church founded in the 6th century) have enabled archaeologists to better assess the size of this ancient Viking black pond. The latter would have been much larger than the researchers thought. Precisely 400 metres wider.
A discovery that helps us to understand how the Vikings decided to settle in the area and create the city of Dublin: after research, it would appear that the Black Pond was able to accommodate a fleet of 200 Viking ships. A godsend for setting up a colony and developing local trade.
Although there are still many mysteries surrounding this vanished black pond, research is progressing and shedding new light on the origins of the city of Dublin. As a reminder, the Vikings landed in Ireland in the 8th century and developed their colonies until the 11th century, when Brian Boru’s victory over the Vikings marked the end of the Northmen’s reign over Ireland.
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