Skeleton found in Scotland may be Irish Viking king

[Graham]

Skeleton found in Scotland may be Irish Viking king
31 MAY 2014

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A skeleton discovered on an archaeological dig in East Lothian in Scotland is believed to be that of a 10th century Irish Viking king.

The bones, along with a belt similar to those worn by members of the Viking nobility in Ireland during the period, were found during a dig at Auldhame near North Berwick in 2005.

It is thought the young male adult may have spent time in the household of Olaf Guthfrithsson, who ruled as King of Dublin and Northumbria in England from 934 to 941, or may even be the king himself.

Olaf was a member of the Uí Ímar dynasty, which dominated both sides of the Irish Sea from 917 until the middle of the 10th century. Ruthless, warlike and ambitious, he married the daughter of King Constantine II of Scotland and allied himself with Owen I of Strathclyde.

In 937 he defeated his Norse rivals in Limerick, and pursued his family claim to the throne of York, forcing England’s King Edmund to cede Northumbia to his rule as well as the kingdom of Mercia, a region that stretched beyond what is now the English midlands.

The hypothesis — which will be published next year by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland — was revealed yesterday as Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, visited the Neolithic monument at Newgrange in Co Meath to highlight archaeological links between Scotland and Ireland.

“This is a fascinating discovery and it’s tantalising that there has been the suggestion that this might be the body of a 10th century Irish Viking king,” said Ms Hyslop.

“Scotland and Ireland’s archaeological communities enjoy a close working partnership, and this find and subsequent research is of particular interest to both, further emphasising the myriad ways in which the two countries’ histories are entwined.”

Shortly before his death in 941, King Olaf sacked Auldhame and nearby Tyninghame, part of a complex of East Lothian churches. The proximity of the burial to the site of the conflict along with the items found with the body, and the age of the skeleton, has led archaeologists and historians to speculate that it may be that of the young Irish king.

[♥ Lily ♥]

I always find it fascinating whenever ancient artefacts are dug-up from underneath the ground each year across the British Isles, but the bones of a king are an even more intriguing discovery.