Aerial photographs of a Viking naval base being excavated near Waterford city indicate that the ninth-century settlement is much larger than originally thought, a group of historians has claimed.
Mr John Maas, an archaeologist who commissioned a flight to take the photographs last month, said crop marks in the pictures suggested a large town predating Waterford city was located in the area.
"If we are right this is not a longphort /[RIVER CAMP)]/ but a town. No one can tell for sure until you put a spade in the ground, but the signs are there," he said.
The National Roads Authority has preserved an area of about 100 square metres near the river-bank for excavation and plans to build over the site later.
However, Mr Maas, a researcher at NUI Maynooth, said the pictures indicated that the settlement extended into a D-shape 1km inland and 1.5km along the riverbank, thereby strengthening the case for a wider excavation.
Echoing this view, Prof Donnchadh Ó Corráin, professor of medieval studies at University College Cork, said the photographs indicated it was the most important Viking site discovered in Europe in over a century.
"This is as big as Hedeby, if not bigger," he said in reference to Europe's best-preserved Viking settlement in northern Germany.
Prof Ó Corráin said crop marks in the photographs indicated the outline of a pattern of streets and houses.
In addition, he cited evidence of the Woodstown site being identified in annals as Camus Ó Fothaid Tíre and dating from 812-900, thus predating Dublin by 30 years.
Such a "three-generation site" was most likely to contain a major Viking graveyard as well as medieval wooden boats preserved in the soil, he said.
"This is a wonderful discovery of enormous significance for history and archaeology, and the people of Waterford. It could be a huge tourist attraction," he said.
Dr Mark Clinton of An Taisce's National Monuments and Antiquities Committee said the photographs strengthened the case for a full scientific investigation under the auspices of a committee of recognised international experts.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, who is a native of Waterford, has yet to decide on the site's future, although indications are he will only sanction a limited excavation in order to avoid a costly bypass rerouting.
