VIKINGS ARRIVED IN IRELAND WHEN POPULATION WAS IN SERIOUS DECLINE  

22 August 2019

The population of Ireland was in decline for almost 200 years before the Vikings settled, according to the latest research from Queen’s School of Natural and Built Environment – the first of its kind – published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Previously it was thought that the populace of Ireland gradually increased over the years. However, researchers found that the population was in serious decline for almost two centuries before the Vikings migrated.

Using rigorous archaeological data science algorithms, the experts have released an estimate of past population numbers. The data shows the importance of migration as without the Vikings, the decline could have been much worse.

Dr Rowan McLaughlin, Research Fellow from the School of Natural and Built Environment, explains: “Millions of people lived in Ireland during prehistory and the earliest Christian times.

“Around the year 700, this population in Ireland mysteriously entered a decline, perhaps because of war, famine, plague or political unrest. However, there was no single cause or one-off event, as the decline was a gradual process.”

He adds: “The Vikings settled in Ireland in the tenth century, during the phase of decline and despite being few in number, they were more successful than the ‘natives’ in expanding their population. Today, genetic evidence suggests many Irish people have some Viking blood.”

For the study, the researchers used a database of archaeological sites discovered during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years, when there was a boom in motorway building and other development in Ireland.

Developers are required by law to employ archaeologists to record sites before they are destroyed. This allowed the researchers to access information that was not previously available.

Dr McLaughlin commented: “This large database has opened up a completely new perspective on the past that we simply could not obtain any other way.”

Emma Hannah is the lead author of the paper and is taking the work further with her PhD research. She explains: “Often in archaeology we are focused on interpreting the evidence from a single site, but analysing quantities of data in this way allows us to think about the long term.

“Now we know these broad trends, we can better understand the details of everyday life.”

Vikings travelled by longboat from Scandinavia to Britain and Ireland from around 780 to about 1100AD. Stealing from and laying waste to communities, their arrival started a 300-year period of intense struggle between the local Anglo-Saxons and the invading Vikings.

Though relatively small in number, the Vikings were more successful than the locals in procreating and genetic tests show that many people from the British Isles can still trace their ancestry back to the conquering Norsemen.

Media enquiries to Emma Gallagher at Queen’s University Communications Office, telephone +44 (0)28 9097 3087.

Photo credits: Main image by Arthur_ASCII Pixabay; headline image by Pashi from Pixabay

 

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