St. Patrick's Isle

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St. Patrick's Isle
(Holmepatrick)
Map of the island
Map of the island
Waters Irish Sea
Archipelago Isle of Man
Geographical location 54 ° 13 '35 "  N , 4 ° 41' 56"  W Coordinates: 54 ° 13 '35 "  N , 4 ° 41' 56"  W.
St. Patrick's Isle (Isle of Man)
St. Patrick's Isle
length 326 m
width 205 m
surface 5 ha
Residents uninhabited
main place Peel Castle (historic)
Later view of the island
Later view of the island

St. Patrick's Isle (also Holmepatrick) is a tidal island that controlled access to the only protected harbor on the west coast of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea through the Viking- built Peel Castle . Today the island is connected to the main island by a dam. It has an area of ​​over five hectares , is 326 meters long and 205 meters wide. The island belongs to the city of Peel .

The island, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times, became the site of the cathedral of the diocese of Sodor and Man, which was subordinate to the Archdiocese of Nidaros (later name Trondheim ) in Norway in the late Nordic period . The diocese, like the "Kingdom of Man and the Isles" of the Vikings, which was founded in the 11th century by Godfred IV Crovan and existed from 1079 to 1266, included all Hebridean islands and some areas in Scotland except the Isle of Man .

Old view of the island (1845)

Within the walls of Peel Castle, which occupies almost the entire island, are the ruins of the Irish round tower and a church built in the 10th or 11th century as well as the Gothic cathedral of St. German built in the 12th century . The early Christian cemetery by their side remained in use until the Middle Ages .

Archaeological excavations have produced numerous finds from all epochs, including well-equipped Viking Age graves. Among them was the only northern women's grave found on the island. The fully clothed corpse of the "Pagan Lady of Peel" was placed in a stone box . The selection of the accessories shows the high status of the woman. A necklace made of over 60 glass and amber beads adorned the neck of the "pagan lady". Next to it were an iron spit, a goose wing, a bouquet of herbs, a comb , scissors and a bag with a pair of needles . One of the two knives had a handle inlaid with silver .

Based on the Hiberno-Nordic coinage in Dublin , over which Godfred IV. Crovan (also called King Orry), the first king of the Isle of Man, also ruled, the rulers of St. Patrick's Isle also seem to have ruled for a short period in the 11th century Century to have minted silver pennies. The coin must have been associated with the seat of political power, which at the time was likely to be on St. Patrick's Isle. Twelve of the pennies were found in a 464-coin treasure found in the west of the Isle of Man.

literature

Web links

Commons : St. Patrick's Isle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files