The remains of a 1,100-year-old Viking woman have been unearthed in the Dublin area in what archaeologists describe as a "highly significant" find.
Details of the location of the dig are not being publicised for security reasons. However, experts say it is one of the earliest pagan Viking finds discovered in the Dublin area.
A tortoise shell brooch, which appears to have originated in the Baltic region, accompanied the body, along with a comb made of either bone or antler.
A number of metal objects were also found alongside the remains and are being studied by experts at the National Museum in Collins Barracks, Dublin.
The National Museum director, Dr Pat Wallace, said a press conference will he held on Monday afternoon when details of the find will be put on display for the media.
The ninth-century find dates back to the first Viking incursions.
The majority of archaeological finds have tended to be from the settled Viking communities of the Hiberno-Norse period in the 10th or 11th centuries, according to experts.
"Any find dating from the ninth century is significant, but it's very interesting to come across remains from the pagan Viking era, during their first 100 years here, when Vikings tended to be involved in raids rather than the city folk of the 10th century onwards," said one expert familiar with the find.
The evidence of what appears to have been a pagan burial is similar to other finds in the Kilmainham and Islandbridge area of Dublin.
