A recently discovered large hilltop settlement could challenge the theory that the Vikings built the first towns in Ireland, a researcher has said. Dr Dirk Brandherm and his colleagues have identified more than 600 suspected houses in the Brusselstown Ring making it, to date, the largest nucleated settlement ever discovered in the entirety of prehistoric Britain and Ireland. The settlement, which is thought to have emerged at about 1200 BC (the Late Bronze Age), is located within a region called the Baltinglass Hillfort Cluster in the south-western edge of the Wicklow Mountains. It is among the 13 large hilltop enclosures spread across the mountain range where there are structures dating back to the Neolithic period and Early Bronze Age. The findings were recently published within Antiquity, a peer-reviewed journal of world archaeology. The study indicates that Brusselstown Ring represents a unique case due to its exceptional size, density of occupation, and architectural complexity. This discovery is significant as it suggests the existence of a proto-town structure 2000 years before the Viking presence in Ireland. The expected findings propose that the largest nucleated settlement agglomeration in prehistoric Ireland and Britain occurred well before the Vikings. Additionally, the excavation revealed a stone-lined chamber, conjectured to be the first of its kind in Ireland, which may have served as a water cistern. The archaeological efforts will continue to discern the full nature and date of the settlement, challenging previous assumptions about Iron Age development in the region.