RECONSIDERING THE YORK -DUBLIN AXIS
CONTEXT
Since the 1970s, a new appreciation of the role of towns, urbanisation and trade has transformed our understanding of the Viking Age from Scandinavia to Russia, as well as in Britain and Ireland. Dublin and York are the best documented and
excavated urban centres in the Viking West , and of exceptional international importance.
Contemporary sources are relatively well-studied, and half a century of urban excavations has produced exceptional evidence. The towns constitute vital resources for archaeologists and heritage professionals alike, but with some exceptions, communication and collaboration between specialists and practitioners, and between the two modern cities, has been limited.
AIMS
This project will create an interdisciplinary network of scholars and heritage professionals who share interests in Britain and Ireland's two greatest Viking towns; York and Dublin. It will foster and enhance interdisciplinary, international collaborative research, heritage management practice, public outreach and creative enterprise.
The central elements of our project are three workshops, focused on the subjects of questions, approaches, and communication.
IMPACT
This network will bring together key researchers and heritage professionals to share cutting-edge research on the two towns; challenge long-established interpretative frameworks; plan new research using new evidence, technologies and approaches; and inform future heritage management and outreach activities in the light of this information.
Networking discussions, and a Research & Engagement strategy document, will inform future heritage management in both cities, identifying research priorities in future development-driven excavations.