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Dublin
An amber and jet workshop was identified on Fishamble Street by the presence of unworked amber,
waste chips and unfinished objects (Wallace 1984, 123–4).
Leather and bone working appears to have been concentrated in High Street. Waste from the
workshops indicates that the manufacture and repair of shoes was the major activity. Antler
workshops were also located on High Street as well as Christchurch Place. Antler combs were made
on a large scale and many motif pieces were found in this area (Murray 1983, 54; Wallace 1984, 123–
4).
INDUSTRY
Tenth to twelfth centuries
Evidence for large-scale metalwork production occurred at High Street and Christchurch Place. A
workshop, which manufactured copper-alloy ringed and stick pins, was located on High Street. Clay
crucibles, heating rays and a mould for casting Thor’s hammer symbols were also found in the area.
(Wallace 1984, 123–4).
Small scale and isolated industrial activity also occurred. At Exchange Street Upper/Parliament Street,
there was evidence for possible charcoal production in the form of two charcoal-rich pits (Gowen with
Scully 1996, 15). During the early tenth century, an industrial area replaced the settlement at Temple
Bar West on its eastern side at Exchange Street Upper and Copper Alley (Simpson 1999, 30). The
area included many unenclosed hearths with neighbouring paved areas, a large hearth which
contained vitrified clay and slag, burnt spreads, charcoal and ash deposits and a large number of
postholes which did form a coherent plan. This industrial area remained active until the early to mid
twelfth century. Similalrly, at Werburgh Street in the tenth century, houses in some plots were
demolished and replaced with furnaces and troughs so that the open spaces could be utilised for
ironworking (Hayden 2002, 49, 51). A final example concerns a crucible that was found in a sheltered
area beside Bank 2 at Ross Road and is suggestive of non-ferrous metalworking in the area during
the middle tenth century (Walsh 2001, 101).
References:
Gowen, M. (with Scally, G.). 1996. Summary Report on Excavations at Exchange Street Upper/
Parliament Street, Dublin. Archaeology in Temple Bar, No.4. Dublin. Temple Bar Properties.
Halpin, A. 2005. Development phases in Hiberno-Norse Dublin: a tale of two cities, in S. Duffy (ed.)
Medieval Dublin VI: Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium 2004, 94–113. Dublin.
Four Courts Press.
Hayden, A. 2002. The excavation of pre-Norman defences and houses at Werburgh Street, Dublin: a
summary, in S. Duffy (ed.) Medieval Dublin III: Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin
Symposium 2001, 44–68. Dublin. Four Courts Press.
Lynch, A. & Manning, C. 1990. Dublin Castle – the archaeology project. Archaeology Ireland, 4(2),
65–8.
Lynch, A. & Manning, C. 2001. Excavations at Dublin Castle, 1985–7, in S. Duffy (ed.) Medieval Dublin
II: Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium 2000, 160–204. Dublin. Four Courts
Press.
Murray, H. 1983. Viking and Early Medieval Buildings in Dublin. BAR British Series 119. Oxford. BAR.
Ó Ríordáin, A. B. 1984. Excavations in old Dublin, in J. Bradley (ed.) Viking Dublin Exposed, 134–43.
Dublin. O’Brien Press.
Scally, G. 2002. The earthen banks and walled defences of Dublin’s north-east corner, in S. Duffy
(ed.) Medieval Dublin III: Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium 2001, 11–33.
Dublin. Four Courts Press.
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