The discovery was first made in 2005 during an excavation by AOC Archaeology Group at Auldhame in East Lothian, and since then, researchers have been trying to piece together the circumstances of his death and his true identity.

The young adult male was buried with a number of grave goods, which indicated he was a high social rank. One of the items was a belt, which is linked to the kings of the Uí Ímar dynasty, which dominated both sides of the Irish Sea from the mid-9^th to the mid-10^th century.  One of the greatest dynasties of the Viking Age, the Uí Ímair were, at their height, the most fearsome and wide-reaching power in the British Isles and perhaps beyond. However, they ultimately failed to make any long-lasting territorial gains of significance and are considered a strategic failure, despite their considerable economic and political influence.

Part of the skull which could be that of a Viking King of Ireland. Credit: Donald MacLeod

Olaf Guthfrithsson was the King of Dublin and Northumbria from 934 to 941 and a member of the Uí Ímair Dynasty. In 937, Olaf defeated his Norse rivals based at Limerick, leaving him free to pursue his family claim to the throne of York. Shortly before his death in 941, Olaf Guthfrithsson sacked Auldhame and nearby Tyninghame – both part of a complex of East Lothian churches dedicated to the eighth century Saint Balthere.

The Viking skeleton was found close to the site of the conflict, and this combined with the items found with the body, has led archaeologists and historians to speculate that it may be that of the young Irish king or a member of his entourage.

“Whilst there is no way to prove the identity of the young man buried at Auldhame, the date of the burial and the equipment make it very likely that this death was connected with Olaf’s attack on the locale,” said Dr Alex Woolf, senior lecturer in the School of History at the University of St Andrews, and a historical consultant on the project.

“Since we have a single furnished burial in what was probably perceived as St Balthere’s original foundation there is a strong likelihood that the king’s followers hoped that by burying him in the saint’s cemetery he might have benefitted from some sort of post-mortem penance.”

Featured image: Artist’s depiction of a Viking King. Image source.

By April Holloway