Fetters

Posted by Rena Maguire One of the things I’ve become really interested in is animal husbandry of the past. In Ireland we are incredibly lucky to have the Breatha Comaithcesca, a set of laws and judgements for tenancy, made to keep 8th century AD society stable (some could say to keep the lower classes in their place!). These statutes and rulings involve care of animals from birds to bees and even crops, giving us an insight into a very rigidly structured society. It was a legal necessity that al

Thanks to all who supported...

Post by Ruth Carden Many thanks to all who supported our crowdfunding campaign - you are all wonderful! Combined with all funding to date, we have enough to radiocarbon date 38 archaeological dogs and 12 archaeological horses :) !!! Additionally, €260 was raised for My Lovely Horse Rescue charity and €250 raised for Dogs Trust Ireland charity from our crowdfunder. An additional donation of €300 to each by Danu Raudh Teoranta, totalled donations to €560 and €550, respectively. AWOOOOO!!! Our arch

Dogs in death – the Valsgärde dogs

Posted by Rebecca Boyd In the Viking Age, people were often buried with grave goods – tools or cooking utensils, weapons or jewellery, or with their animals. The most famous of these ‘furnished burials’ are the great ship burials of Oseberg and Gokstad where just one or two people were buried. But there are also bigger cemeteries with multiple smaller furnished burials. One of these cemeteries is found in Valsgärde in Sweden, where archaeologists have excavated 92 burials including 15 boat buria

What were dogs here like 1,000 years ago? Were they pets or working dogs... or wild?

Stephen St/Aungier St Excavations – 17E0212

Posted by Paul Duffy Dogs were a common feature of life in Dublin throughout the Viking Age and in the medieval period in general. We sometimes get glimpses of dogs in the medieval sources and we know that Irish dogs were highly prized for their size and intelligence. They were not always treated kindly however as a late medieval Dublin law suggests: ‘Any man killing his neighbour's dog, unless in self-defence, is liable to a fine and is also answerable for the damage entailed on the owner by th