Sir, – Allow a historical geographer who followed the Wood Quay excavations with great interest to expand on the review of Pat Wallace's book on Viking Dublin – The Wood Quay Excavations (Howard Clarke, Weekend Review, January 30th).
This book represents the lifework of an Irish archaeologist with a large team of people, who on their knees in all kind of weather, unearthed the treasures that are reproduced in this book. It represents the efforts of Pat Wallace to put the Irish evidence into a European context, for which the next generation of archaeologists will surely be very grateful. It communicates the delicate task of the author to trace the origins of Dublin back to cultural traditions that include the Gaelic Irish, the Scandinavians and the English. Herein lies the excitement of the book and herein lies the fascination of continental archaeologists with the Wood Quay site.
Prof Herbert Jankuhn, the well-known German Viking scholar, told me after meeting Pat Wallace on the site on the day when Dublin Corporation finally closed it down, and after seeing the records of the excavations in the National Museum: “Dr Wallace’s organisation of his material is so excellent that if he fell under a bus tomorrow someone else could take on the publication”.
Without this deep feeling of responsibility towards the excavations and loyalty towards the National Museum this book, reflecting a wealth of knowledge of material culture and comparative European archaeology, could not have been written. Admittedly, relative dating expressed in relation to layers under the ground is a challenge for medieval historians and historical geographers. In those circumstances thinking inevitably becomes speculation.
We in Dublin are most fortunate that the Irish government financed the excavations, that The Irish Times at critical times supported the excavations, and that the author beyond retirement ceaselessly worked to put the story together as it stands at present, communicating the work of his own team and that of others exploring the origins of our capital city. I for one would like to express my appreciation for what has been achieved. – Yours, etc,
ANNGRET SIMMS
(Member of the Royal Irish Academy),
Sandymount,
Dublin 4