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July 2005

25th July 2005 - Action Group Welcome Cullen Comments that Woodstown Excavation is to Proceed
18th July 2005 - Action Group Propose Viking Ship Festival for Waterford
8th July 2005 - Save Viking Waterford Welcome Appointment of Granary Director to Woodstown Advisory Group

25th July 2005

Save Viking Waterford Welcome Cullen Comments that Woodstown Excavation is to Proceed

The Save Viking Waterford Action Group have welcomed comments from Minister for Transport Martin Cullen that it was his understanding that a state-funded excavation, in conjunction with the National Museum of Ireland, is planned for the settlement of Woodstown in the near future. Mr Cullen made his comments on RTE’s Morning Ireland. He agreed that the site provided unique evidence of Ireland’s historical past and said that this was the reason the N25, which was originally planned to run through the area, had been moved.

Save Viking Waterford spokesperson, Dr Catherine Swift expressed her delight at his words. "This is wonderful news. This is the first time anyone from the government has confirmed that an excavation is planned. Hundreds of thousands of listeners to RTE radio heard Mr Cullen make a public commitment to the excavation of Woodstown. It is time now for Mr Cullen colleague Dick Roche to publicly announce that the excavation will take place and give us a schedule and budget for the dig".

"With an excavation we can resolve the vexed question of whether or not Woodstown represents western Europe’s first Viking town or whether it was primarily a ship-building site which also attracted traders from Scandinavia and the Middle East. People have been debating the issue on the basis of tiny amounts of evidence; now we will be able to investigate properly and come up with real hard facts."

"It is clear our maritime heritage and Viking forebears are key elements in helping to distinguish the regional tourism of the south-east: Waterford has just hosted the extremely successful visit of the Tall Ships and on August Bank Holiday, the highlight of the festivities in Wexford will be the visit of the Viking replica ship Gaia to Ferrycarrig. The City Square excavations made twelfth and thirteenth-century Waterford famous and a Woodstown dig will provide the evidence for the earliest period of Viking settlement known in these islands. Together, they’ll make Waterford renowned world-wide as a centre for Viking research."

"It is also worth remembering that Woodstown wasn’t founded by the Vikings but by the local people, the Déise, who were kings of an important maritime kingdom long before the Scandinavians ever reached our shores. As the Romans retreated from Britain, Déise colonists from Waterford established the kingdom of Dyfed in west Wales. There they took over the remnants of Roman administration and culture and facilitated its introduction to Ireland".

"Thus the excavation of Woodstown will not only provide us with the first big settlement of Scandinavian-type in western Europe, it also has the potential to give us unique insights into the whole process by which the Irish (and in particular the Déisemen) "saved civilisation" by taking over Roman culture in the west, adopting and adapting it and re-exporting it back to Europe. Minister Cullen’s government is to be commended for undertaking the excavation of this amazing site".

18th July 2005

SAVE VIKING WATERFORD PROPOSES VIKING SHIP FESTIVAL FOR WATERFORD

The Save Viking Waterford Action Group has proposed that an annual or biennial Viking Ship Festival be held in Waterford following the huge success of the Tall Ships Festival. This proposal is one of a series which will comprise a document to be published by the group in the autumn which outlines SVWAG’s vision for the future excavation of the Woodstown Viking Site and the exploitation of Waterford rich Viking heritage to boost tourist numbers to the region and establish Waterford as a centre for Viking research. The document will be presented to the Special Advisory Group on Woodstown, which was established by the Minister for the Environment.

A Viking Ships Festival, which would bring together some of the many Viking ship replicas which have been built in Europe would show of the quays and port in much the same way as the Tall Ships race did and attract thousands of visitors to the city.

SVWAG spokesperson, Dr Catherine Swift stated: "There is a consensus that the Tall Ships was a great advert for the city of Waterford and shows Waterford’s ability to handle a huge influx of people. Even before this festival, we had been in contact with the owners of two Viking ship replicas from Co. Down who have already agreed to visit Waterford next summer. There is also a ship berthed in Dublin and others from the Isle of Man and Bangor in north Wales but that’s only the vessels based in the Irish Sea. There are many, many more which have been built by the Scandinavians and they make frequent voyages to Shetland and the Orkneys – I’m sure we could persuade some of them to make the journey further south."

"In addition, the Danes have just completed building a replica of the enormous warship built in south-east Ireland which was found at Roskilde. During the SVWAG visit to the Viking ship museum there, we were told that there is a proposal to bring that boat to York in 2007. We would hope that this boat may visit Ireland also in the near future".

"By examining the pattern of tree rings represented on the planking in the science known as dendrochonology, we can say for certain that the Roskilde warship was built in the eleventh century in the south-east of Ireland. Dubliners have claimed that it was built in the hinterland of the city but anywhere in the south-east is equally possible. It may even have been built in the site at Woodstown where the 5% of the site which has been investigated to date has produced extensive evidence for ship-building. This takes the form of ships nails scattered widely in pits across the site and hemp pollen which was probably grown to make sails or ropes."

"We also know that at least from the time of Brian Boru, the fleets of the people living south of the Suir were highly prized by the high-kings of Ireland who would hire them to act as a form of royal navy. These ships would be marked by special banners indicating their Déise homeland and would be commanded by local men who were paid with wealthy gifts and a percentage of any profits made on raids."

"Bringing together the Viking ship replicas would be make for a wonderful and colourful festival which would highlight Waterford’s unique qualities as a show-case for maritime events. Like everybody else, SVWAG seeks to build on the exposure which has showcased Waterford city and county for so many visitors to the Tall Ships. A Viking Ships Festival seems to us an obvious development".

8th July 2005

Save Viking Waterford Welcome Appointment of Granary Director to Woodstown Advisory Group

The Save Viking Waterford Action Group has welcomed the appointment of Eamon McEneaney to the special advisory group to decide the future of Woodstown. Mr. McEneaney is the director of Waterford Treasures at the Granary and the author of ‘Discover Waterford’.

On May 11th, Minister Dick Roche, when officially confirming that the Waterford bypass would be re-routed in order to preserve the Woodstown Viking Site, also announced that an advisory group of consisting of Waterford City Council, the National Museum and the Department of the Environment would be set up to put forward proposals on the strategic management of the Viking site at Woodstown. Eamon McEneaney is the representative of Waterford City Council on the group.

SVWAG spokesman, Dr Catherine Swift, said in response to Mr. McEneaney’s appointment: “It is the correct decision to appoint an expert who will appreciate and represent the importance of Woodstown to this review group rather than an engineer or council official who may be well versed in bureaucratic niceties but not comprehend the international significance of Woodstown”.

“It is also pleasing to see Waterford City Council move so quickly to appoint Eamon McEneaney. We can only hope now that the National Museum and Department of Environment move with a similar alacrity. The decision to establish this expert group was unprecedented and precipitated by the campaign to save Woodstown that was supported by thousands across Waterford and beyond. However this progressive step must not be hampered by the type of prevarication and indifference which has marked the governments approach to Woodstown since its discovery”.

“It has taken us two years to reach the point where the road is being re-routed. The huge interest in Woodstown demands that this process is speeded up and the review group meets and comes to a conclusion as soon as possible. The Department of the Environment and National Museum must follow the example of Waterford City Council and appoint representatives to this group and set a time-table for their report, which would ideally happen in autumn or early winter, and certainly should happen before Christmas”.

“In terms of the save Viking Waterford Action Group, although we have achieved a significant victory in the re-routing of the road, the first time in the history of the National Roads Authority this has occurred, it would be a hollow victory if the site is left un-excavated. We will continue our campaign under the banner of ‘Excavate to Educate’ to ensure that the state acknowledges the potential of Woodstown and orders a full research excavation sooner rather than later”.

For further information on the Save Viking Waterford Action Group, please contact save@vikingwaterford.com. Updates are available on the website www.vikingwaterford.com