Shopper Documents First Visit to Dublin Supermarket With Ancient Ruins on Display Underfoot
A woman documented her first visit to a unique Lidl grocery store in Dublin, Ireland, that offers more than just home essentials; it also offers a bit of history in the form of ruins on display under Plexiglas.
Allie Whelan recorded this video showing the ruins near a toilet paper–lined aisle while shopping at the German supermarket chain.
“The ruins are apparently of a basement space from an 11th-century house,” she said. “I love that these ruins are on show beneath the shop floor, as there have been many other places in Dublin where ruins were simply built on top of. These are free to see and easily accessible to the public.”
The footage captures both the 11th-century ruins of a “sunken-floored structure,” along with stairs that were part of an “18th century ‘pit trap’ associated with the stage workings of the former Aungier Street Theatre,” according to RTE.
According to local reports, the 11th-century ruins were discovered during excavations of the site, and were likely used by “Hiberno-Norse Dubliners who were effectively the ancestors of the Vikings,” Paul Duffy from IAC Archaeology told RTE. The domestic space is thought to have functioned as “many things, as a house or as an extra space for the family,” Duffy said.
The store opened October 15, 2020. Credit: Allie Whelan via Storyful
Video transcript
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