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In 841 Vikings set up a fortified ship camp at Dublin that grew into a trading town, dealing in silver, goods and enslaved people across the Irish Sea and beyond.

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The camp of 841 was a longphort, a defended harbour where Norse crews could beach their ships and spend the winter, beside an Irish church settlement called Duiblinn, 'black pool'. Under Norse rule Dublin became the biggest slave port in Western Europe: captives from raids in Ireland and Britain were sold on across the Viking world. Excavations at Wood Quay in the 1970s uncovered streets, houses and workshops, and nearly a hundred Viking burials have been found at Kilmainham and Islandbridge. Dublin's Norse kings were gradually drawn into Irish politics, but the town remained Ireland's leading port.

Türkçe oku
Vikingler 841'de Dublin'de tahkimli bir gemi üssü kurdu. Bu üs zamanla gümüş, çeşitli mallar ve köleleştirilmiş insanlarla ticaret yapılan, İrlanda Denizi'nin ötesine uzanan yollara bağlı bir kente dönüştü.

841'deki üs bir longphort'tu, yani İskandinav denizcilerin gemilerini karaya çekip kışı geçirebildiği korunaklı bir limandı ve Duiblinn (“kara gölcük”) adlı bir İrlanda kilise yerleşiminin yanındaydı. İskandinavların yönetiminde Dublin, Batı Avrupa'nın en büyük köle limanı oldu: İrlanda ve Britanya'daki akınlarda tutsak alınanlar Viking dünyasının dört bir yanına satıldı. 1970'lerde Wood Quay'deki kazılarda sokaklar, evler ve atölyeler gün ışığına çıktı; Kilmainham ile Islandbridge'de ise yüze yakın Viking mezarı bulundu. Dublin'in İskandinav kralları zamanla İrlanda siyasetinin içinde eridi, ama kent İrlanda'nın başlıca limanı olarak kaldı.

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Background reading: Early Scandinavian Dublin
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