The Vikings established the first trading towns in Ireland. The Vikings were craftsmen and traders, and it is this picture, as opposed to their traditional characterisation as plunderers, that emerged from the murky depths of the Abbey River.
A Viking strap end and zoomorphic mount dating from the early eleventh century are demonstrable examples of the fine metalworking technology of the time. The excavations at Broad Street indicated a long and deep 4. Three samples from oak timbers that revetted one of the bridge piers were dated to the early thirteenth century.
Organic deposits were identified abutting the bridge piers, and subsequent scientific analysis demonstrated that they had accumulated slowly during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a result of the dumping of organic refuse and the accumulation of river silts. This expansion of the Irishtown towards the Abbey River is likely to have been associated with renewed town wall-building, extending into the river. The uppermost archaeological deposits in the cutting consisted of post-medieval cobbling, drains and culverts.
The first section uncovered was at the junction of the medieval bridge, the town wall and a defensive tower defending the northern end of the bridge on the town wall. The springing arch of the medieval bridge was identified at the easternmost external end of the town wall. No surface trace of the structures was visible before excavation. The historical sources suggest that the medieval defences survived up to , when the present quay was constructed; the medieval bridge was replaced in No medieval archaeological layers were recorded adjacent to the walls.
The layers that abutted the structures were deposited as a result of eighteenth-century quay construction and nineteenth-century bridge-building.
However, a corner section of a mural tower or bastion on the town wall was identified along the length of the cutting. The archaeological excavations in the riverbed resulted in the collection of a large range of medieval and post-medieval artefacts that illustrate the commercial and vernacular history of the city.
An early post-medieval c. The discovery of the ring in the riverbed raises questions as to how it was lost—accidentally, or in anger? A large quantity of food waste cattle, sheep and pig bones was recovered from the Abbey River. There was very little evidence that food was taken from the wild. It seems clear that sufficient meat was available from domesticated farm animals to supply the needs of the townspeople. However, occasional bones of red and fallow deer and small quantities of rabbit bone were found.
The Normans captured Limerick in In King Henry V granted a charter which made Limerick an independent city-state. In the s, the Tudors brought major changes to Limerick The city endured four major sieges in , , and During the ninth and tenth centuries large quantities of silver came into circulation in Ireland.
This was largely due to Viking activity in the country, and their opening of trade routes to the east. Silver circulated in the form of coins, ornaments, ingots and hack-silver, and the artefacts are some of the most important evidence for Scandinavian activity in Ireland.
This kite-brooch, dating to the early tenth century, was found with another near the Limerick. The pair were discovered in during the construction of the Limerick-Tipperary railway line.
The name kite-brooch derives from the shape of the head of the brooch, which is attached to the pin by a hinged tag. Silver kite-shaped brooches are quite rare in Ireland, and these examples are exceptionally large. The style of these brooches indicates that they have been made in Dublin, where several copper-alloy examples have been found. The size is a clear indication of the availability of large quantities of silver in Ireland at this period.
After the fourth siege, the Treaty of Limerick was signed. Patrick Sarsfield and the other Catholic leaders left Limerick and Ireland. The Flight of the Wild Geese began. From the s the walls of Limerick were taken down to allow the city to expand. In Christopher Colles produced a plan for this new city based on a grid like formation. The nineteenth century was a period of great change.
The fire service, gas supply, water supply, social housing, sewerage, public health and first public library were all introduced. Limerick took a major part in the events leading to Irish independence. In , it was the scene of a general strike known as the Limerick Soviet when the strike committee ran the city for two weeks.
In , it was besieged during the Civil War.
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