Anglesey and mainland Gwynedd for a period (such as Óláfr in the early eleventh
century).
The Red Wharf Bay armlets (Figure 29. 1 ) may point to gift-giving to a local elite,
and the formation of alliances at this period, while the evidence from Llanbedrgoch
suggests a Scandinavian trading presence, a foothold which helped them maintain the
Dublin–York axis within the Irish Sea cultural zone. The quantity of artefacts bearing
the stylistic hallmarks of Scandinavian or Hiberno-Norse taste raises the possibility of
a significant immigrant element among the occupants of the site, and the coexistence
and integration of the native population with traders in terms of material culture, but
not of language or significant self-conscious ethnicity. Llanbedrgoch is a manifestation
of settlement in north-west Wales which learnt to operate within the Hiberno-
Scandinavian political and commercial activity around the Irish Sea (perhaps ultimately
being targeted by raids), and is providing a new perspective on Hiberno-Scandinavian
influence and cultural hegemony in north Wales.
The available evidence indicates that there was little impact on the Welsh language
and political structures. The Vikings initiated no urban developments, and the Welsh
were effective in limiting Viking settlement to certain areas. The Vikings have been
credited with indirect influence on the development of a sense among the Welsh of
solidarity against an external threat. Some of their episodic impact is now invisible – the
loss of treasures and the cultural damage caused by this plundering – although largely
documented through the annals, place names and occasional finds.
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–– Mark Redknap––