ISLE OF BUTE, SCOTLAND—New radiocarbon dates for a preserved surface in the mound known as Cnoc An Rath could indicate a Viking presence at the site. Some think the archaeological monument may have been a Viking “thing,” or parliament site, based upon an analysis of long lost place names on the island. And archaeologist Paul Duffy told the Herald Scotland that a medieval Irish text mentions the island as being in the territory of the Gall-Gaidheil, Norse-Gael people who dominated much of the region around the Irish Sea. “We have got a very unusual and definite historical evidence which puts Bute in the Gall-Gaidheil territory, and possibly quite an important place in the Gall-Gaidheil territory,” said Duffy. “What we have now is another brick in the evidential wall which suggests there is an assembly site on Bute.” That could link the site to King Ketill Björnsson, a.k.a. Ketill Flatnose, a figure in Icelandic sagas. Icelandic tradition states that the king died on the Scottish islands. To read more, go to “Viking Trading or Raiding?“
