Disir
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The history of the island, where St Columba arrived in the late 6th Century to spread Christianity throughout the land, is now being rewritten given the finds of mainly copper and gold.
A number of copper alloy pins of Hiberno-Norse origin, made by those of mixed Scandinavian and Irish ancestry, have been retrieved with the items likely used to fasten clothing, such as tunics and cloaks.
The pins date from the 10th and 11th Century with at least two found close to Martyrs Bay, on the east coast of the island.
It was on this beach that the bodies of 68 monks were left after the Viking raids of 806AD with it traditionally believed the island was then abandoned for hundreds of years until the Benedictine abbey was constructed in the 12th Century.
This is pretty cool.........especially if you read it with a Scottish accent.
A number of copper alloy pins of Hiberno-Norse origin, made by those of mixed Scandinavian and Irish ancestry, have been retrieved with the items likely used to fasten clothing, such as tunics and cloaks.
The pins date from the 10th and 11th Century with at least two found close to Martyrs Bay, on the east coast of the island.
It was on this beach that the bodies of 68 monks were left after the Viking raids of 806AD with it traditionally believed the island was then abandoned for hundreds of years until the Benedictine abbey was constructed in the 12th Century.
Discoveries on Iona rewrite history of sacred isle
A series of discoveries on Iona show the sacred isle was not abandoned following the brutal Viking raids of the early 9th Century with monastery life instead continuing and a centre for metalwork established.
www.scotsman.com
This is pretty cool.........especially if you read it with a Scottish accent.