Waterford has now outstripped the great historic towns of Britain and Europe in terms of its detailed published record of its Viking past, the director of the National Museum, Dr Pat Wallace, said yesterday.
He was speaking in Waterford City Hall at the publication of a book which details and analyses the extensive finds uncovered during a six-year archaeological dig in the heart of the city.
Dr Wallace said the excavations, which explored about 6,000 square metres, or almost a fifth of the old Viking city, had yielded a wealth of important new evidence about urban layout and everyday life in the late Viking Age.
The work would allow comparison with the remarkable archaeological record of Dublin, he said. Both cities were now in the front rank of preservation among European early medieval towns.
Some 47 experts, both Irish and international scholars, contributed to the 935-page, profusely illustrated book which describes and discusses the thousands of artefacts and environmental samples uncovered, ranging from human and animal skeletons to Viking coins and jewellery, and military accoutrements from the Norman period.
The Minister of State, Mr Martin Cullen, said the project, which took place in conjunction with the redevelopment of a large rundown area in the city centre, was one of the most inspired initiatives undertaken by Waterford Corporation.
The Waterford City Manager, Mr Eddie Breen, said the artefacts and information discovered would feature in an exhibition centre being developed by the corporation and scheduled to open next year.
The field work was supervised by two urban archaeologists, Mr Maurice Hurley and Ms Orla Scully, who have cowritten the volume with Ms Sarah McCutcheon. The book, Late Viking Age and Medieval Waterford Excavations, 1986-1992, has been published by the corporation in a limited edition of 500 copies, priced £70.