Home News Latest News Dublin’s Viking wall comes to life

Dublin’s Viking wall comes to life

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

A SECTION of Dublin’s 900-year-old Viking city wall has been put on public view for the first time at the city council's civic offices on the Southside. When the Viking settlement site – built in the 10th century AD near Christ­church Cathedral - was first excavated over 30 years ago it caused huge controversy. The city wall at the time was earmarked for demolition and storage at another site but thousands of people demanded that the historically important area be preserved from a development that was designed to house the Dublin City civic offices. Measuring just under 20 metres in length and 4.3 metres in height, the section of wall is now visible through a glass viewing platform, with each stone bearing the identifying number painted on when it had been due for demolition. In 2004 Dublin City Council published the Dublin City Walls and Defences Conservation Plan. The conservation of the fabric of the city walls was identified within the plan as of paramount importance. The presentation or revealing of the city walls was also highlighted as a major challenge and opportunity. Charles Duggan, Heritage Officer at Dublin City Council, explained the extent of the detailed and painstaking conservation work that has gone into preserving the wall. “In 2007 we began looking at the site of the city walls in Wood Quay and we decided our first step would be to carry out the conservation works,” he said. Key “We carried out a survey of all above ground remains of the city wall. That was key to bringing forward our ambition to conserve the stretch of the city wall that still exists.” Mr Duggan explained that conservationists in the council wanted to ensure that the integrity of the wall itself was kept intact and that by leaving the markings and numberings on the stones the structure's more recent history would also be recorded. “We were absolutely adamant that we wanted to maintain the existing condition of the wall so I would describe the work as much as necessary but as little as possible. “We have done very gentle cleaning of the wall by using an archaeologist’s brush. We decided that in preserving the wall in the Wood Quay venue we would keep the underpinnings and the markings that were put there in the 1970s. “They were put there when the wall was going to be demolished but thankfully that decision was eventually reversed,” he further explained. “We decided that we should leave them there because we have to be honest about recent history affecting the Wood Quay site. “From the amphitheatre section of the civic offices park where the operas are held every August you can walk onto a viewing platform and the public will be able to overlook the city wall,” he added. The wall is part of the new Wood Quay Venue at the civic offices which houses a conference and events space and a new permanent exhibition on the development of the city. The My City Exhibition is a modern multimedia permanent display that provides information on Dublin City today, while also showcasing plans for the coherent future development of the city. Visitors can explore the projects and developments that will shape Dublin’s future using a 3D interactive map of the city. For further details on Wood Quay Venue visit http://www.dublincity.ie/Planning/Pages/WoodQuayVenue.aspx