The Steine of Dublin was a Viking standing stone or steinn (from Old Norse - stone) which was used to mark the landing spot and point of docking for Viking longships in Dublin and signify their ownership of the surrounding lands. [1] [2] It was likely built soon after the Viking's founding of Early Scandinavian Dublin in 849 AD, although a new stone may have been installed later. [3]
The stone gave its name to the surrounding area and the nearby stein river as well as a local pub. [4] [5]
The stone lay to the east of the city in an area known as Hoggen Green, Hogges Green or Hoggin Green and later referred to as Le Hogges in what is today the general vicinity of College Green, close to the old Viking Thingmote or Thingmount adjacent to what is today St Andrew's Church. [6] [7] [8]
It was also located next to the Priory of All Hallows which evolved to become the site of Trinity College Dublin from 1592. In later years, the location also became the site of the Irish parliament at Chichester House from 1661 until it was reconstructed as Parliament House around 1728.
The stone was said to have been around 12 to 14 feet high.[ citation needed ] The use of the original stone is uncertain although it certainly acted as a general focal point and territory marker for the taking or retaking of Dublin. It may have also had pseudo religious or spiritual purpose. It is not clear if the stone was originally coloured as would be typical of a Viking runestone or originally contained information as with an Ogham stone or was just a general marker.
The stone was removed sometime before 1750 and it does not appear on John Rocque's 1756 map of Dublin. Its whereabouts are unknown as of 2024 although it is likely it is still extant in the general Dublin area as an architectural feature or used as a building material.[ citation needed ]
The stone and area gave its name to a nearby stream which was referred to as either the Steine, styne or Stein. This stream had its source near Charlemont Bridge and its mouth at Burgh Quay where it joined the Liffey. As of 2024, the stream has been culverted and cannot be seen above ground.
A memorial sculpture to the surgeon Sir Philip Crampton by Joseph Kirk was later erected near the site in 1862 and existed until 1959 when it partially collapsed and then was destroyed as part of road widening works. [9] [10] [11] The statue was sometimes referred to as "the cauliflower". [12]
A replacement 11 foot tall stein or sculptural pillar made of granite was erected on College Street, Dublin in 1986 near the site of the Crampton Memorial. The sculpture was designed by Cliodhna Cussen. The face of Ivar the Boneless has been carved into the base of the standing stone.
Dublin is the capital of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while Dublin City and its suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, and County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500, making it the largest city by size on the island of Ireland.
The Viking Age was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their homeland of Scandinavia but also to any place significantly settled by Scandinavians during the period. The Scandinavians of the Viking Age are often referred to as Vikings as well as Norsemen, although few of them were Vikings in the sense of being engaged in piracy.
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia, who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Greenland, and Vinland. In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Estonia, and Kievan Rus'.
College Green is a three-sided plaza in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. On its northern side is the Bank of Ireland building, which until 1800 was Ireland's Parliament House. To its east stands Trinity College Dublin. To its south stands a series of 19th-century buildings.
Saint Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick, Ireland, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe, it is now one of six cathedrals in the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.
Hogbacks are stone carved Anglo-Scandinavian sculptures from 10th- to 12th-century northern England and south-west Scotland. Singular hogbacks were found in Ireland and Wales. Hogbacks fell out of fashion by the beginning of the 11th century. Their function is generally accepted as grave markers. Similar later grave markers have been found in Scandinavia. In Cornwall similar stones are known as coped stones.
The Kingdom of Dublin was a Norse kingdom in Ireland that lasted from roughly 853 AD to 1170 AD. It was the first and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland, founded by Vikings who invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin.
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic languages.
John Henry Foley, often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. He is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell for the O'Connell Monument in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in London and for a number of works in India.
Sculptured stones is a name applied to carved stone monuments from the early Christian period excavated in various parts of the British Isles and Scandinavia. They document the conversion of these areas to Christianity.
Island Bridge, formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland which joins the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park.
Sir Philip Crampton, 1st Baronet, FRSMRCSI was an eminent Irish surgeon and anatomist. He was President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1811, 1820, 1844 and 1855.
St Andrew's Church is a former parish church of the Church of Ireland that is located in St Andrew's Street, Dublin, Ireland. After ceasing to be a church, it housed the main Dublin tourist office of Fáilte Ireland until 2014, and later underwent redevelopment with a view to reopening as a food hall.
The Priory of All Hallows was a monastic foundation just outside of the walls of Dublin, Ireland.
The Old Steine Gardens in Brighton, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, adjacent to the Old Steine thoroughfare, are the site of several monuments of national historic significance.
St Andrew's Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland.
Crampton Court, also colloquially known as Love Lane since the mid-2010s, is a short lane or passageway located in Temple Bar in central Dublin, Ireland. A small open-air square exists at approximately the halfway point of the lane, measuring approximately 11.5 by 16.7 metres wide, from which narrow, semi-covered lanes lead to its northern and southern entrances.
College Street in Dublin follows the curve of Trinity College. It runs from College Green in the west to Pearse Street in the east. It lies in the "Mansion House A" Electoral Division of Dublin. It was described by the prolific engraver Mary Milner as "one of the most spacious of the noble thoroughfares of the Irish metropolis."