In the salerooms

Robert Rackard An auction of 600 lots of antiques and fine art will be held by Robert Rackard, Caim, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford on Saturday next, 30 October. Robert Rackard An auction of 600 lots of antiques and fine art will be held by Robert Rackard, Caim, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford on Saturday next, 30 October. Items include a Victorian mahogany chest on chest, estimate ?3,000-3,500; Victorian mahogany 11ft dining table, ?6,000-6,500; Georgian mahogany D-end dining table, ?3,000-3,500; Victorian rosewood card table, ?1,800-2,000; and a mahogany bureau bookcase, ?2,500-3,000. Also included is a rouge and white marble fireplace, estimate ?4,000-5,000; Victorian mahogany canterbury whatnot, ?1,200-1,400; Victorian mahogany music cabinet, ?700-800; and an ebony Bluthner baby grand piano, ?6,500-7,500. There is also a selection of oils and watercolours by John Edwin Foley. Oliver Usher An auction of antique furniture and house contents will be sold by Oliver Usher at Gleneagles, Ballintlieve, Moynalty, Kells, Co Meath on Saturday next, 30 October. Items to be offered at the sale include a Victorian mahogany bookcase, estimate about ?1,000; Victorian roll-top desk, ?600-800; pine and oak 4-door bookcase, ?1,000-1,200; 2 good Victorian mahogany sideboards, ?800-1,200 each; and Georgian and Victorian chests of drawers which are estimated at ?500-800 each. O'Reilly's A diamond solitaire ring sold for ?13,500 at O'Reilly's, Francis Street, Dublin on 13 October. Other results included ?10,200 for an antique diamond and ruby 3-stone ring; diamond solitaire, ?7,800; 5-stone diamond ring, ?6,300; diamond solitaire ring, ?5,300; a diamond eternity ring, ?4,200; ladies Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch, ?2,750; and an emerald and diamond dress ring, ?2,500. RJ Keighery A walnut bookcase sold for ?3,400 at the recent sale held by R.J. Keighery, Waterford. Other prices included ?2,700 for a tripod table; set 14 ladderback chairs, ?2,300; walnut writing desk, ?2,100; Adam style marble fire surround, ?2,000; mahogany secretaire bookcase, ?1,850; and a Victorian bookcase, ?1,800. Fairs & Exhibitions Oliver Gormley Exhibiting at The Quality Hotel, Wexford during the Wexford Opera Festival is Oliver Gormley from Omagh. Artists include Carol Ann Waldron, Ross Wilson, Gladys Maccabe, Ronan Davidson, Eileen Meagher, and Senan O'Brien. Prices range from ?400 upwards. Magil Fine Art Also exhibiting at The Quality Hotel, Wexford is Magil Fine Art (prop. Bernadette Murphy) of Bachelors Walk, Dublin, who has returned to the Slaney Suite in the hotel this year following a successful exhibition last year. A fine collection of 20 century and contemporary Irish art is on view. Excellent paintings by six well-known Russian artists, recently sourced in St Petersburg, are also on show. The exhibition continues until November 1. Kerry Fair The Kerry antiques and collectables Fair will be held at the Brandon Hotel, Tralee, tomorrow, Sunday. The Fair will exhibit for sale an extensive range of furniture, fine jewellery, silver, paintings, prints, coins, bank notes, curios, etc., on over 50 stands. There are also uniforms and an Edison Phonograph 1903 in perfect working order. Dun Laoghaire Fair An antiques and collectables Fair will be held in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, tomorrow and on Monday, 24/25 October. The hotel is expected to close for about 3 years while major building and refurbishment take place. The Fair will be attended by 45 dealers displaying art glass, antique clocks, furniture, jewellery, silver, paintings, books and prints. Book Fair The ongoing holiday weekend books and collectors' Fair being held at the local Band Hall at Blessington, Co Wicklow will continue until Monday next. Prints, pictures and other collectables will also feature.

Viking site hailed as most important discovery ever

JEROME REILLY A VAST Viking emporium on the banks of the Suir with an economy based on silver may be one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in this country. One of the world's leading experts on the Vikings, Professor Dagfinn Skre of Oslo University, says initial studies of the Woodstown site at Waterford, which had up to 4,000 inhabitants, show it is even more important than originally thought. The Viking settlementwas discovered during the construction of the ?200m Waterford bypass which will be delayed by a year to enable the site to be fully excavated. Supplied by a fleet of ships, the bustling Viking market and trading post five miles outside Waterford has already been called Ireland's Pompeii. A large number of artefacts have also been uncovered, including nails, weights, jewellery, silverware, weapons, ceramics and ship fragments. Professor Skre who visited the site at the request of the National Museum of Ireland, during the summer is hugely enthusiastic. Stressing that his visit was at the very beginning of the excavation, he paints a picture of a huge trading post where silver was exchanged for high-quality crafts and other goods. "There are very many lead weights, probably used by craftsmen but also used in trade to weigh silver so this is important information about these kind of settlements," Professor Skre said. The Norwegian expert suggests Woodstown has the capacity to fill in some of the blanks about the Viking empire builders who left Scandinavia in long boats. "Among Viking scholars news of a find like this spreads fast. This is a very important site because we haven't found and excavated early Viking settlements before. What we have seen mostly before now are 10th- century or late 9th- century sites," he added. "This settlement appears to date from the mid-ninth century and from that period we generally have only written sources of information. To get archaeological material from an almost undisturbed site like this with the extensive excavation which has been planned there will be extremely important not only to understanding Viking history in Ireland but the Viking expansion in a larger sense. "From a Scandinavian point of view we are struggling to answer some questions about how many people did go abroad; how were these ventures organised? Were they small bands or were they large groups travelling together? This site may answer these questions. "I was very surprised at how large the site was and theartefacts are very informative because they demonstrate extensive trade and craftproduction which is new and important information about the activities in this kind of site." Early signs are that what may have been the original town of Waterford remains virtually intact, with dozens of streets and dwellings just under the soil surface. "We can make some guesses from the written sources about the Viking expansion, for example, how many came, how often did they come, things like that, but to have an independent source like an archaeological source telling us about an Irish settlement is important. "We can see the size of the settlement, the intensity, the length of use, how many people were there, what did they do, things like that. It has the potential to yield major new discoveries," Professor Skre said.