Eblana

However, there is no definitive proof to tie Eblana to any location, so its exact identity remains a matter of speculation.

If the reference to a settlement in Ireland called Eblana is in fact the earliest reference to Dublin, this would seem to give Dublin a just claim to nearly two thousand years of antiquity, as the settlement must have existed a considerable time before Ptolemy became aware of it.

[citation needed] There are several problems with this theory: When Ptolemy wrote the Geographia there were two significant areas of activity in north County Dublin.

One was at the mouth of the river Delvin where two substantial groups of chamber tombs would have been clearly visible from the sea for several thousand years.

The second area of international activity was based around the promontory fort of Drumanagh south of present-day Loughshinny, which was probably a trading post but may have been used as a potential bridgehead by Agricola.