Table Of Content

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EARLY MEDIEVAL IRELAND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EARLY MEDIEVAL IRELAND Nancy Edwards 13 Routledge jjj j ^ Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1990 First published in paperback 1996 by B. T. Batsford Ltd. Reprinted 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX 14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Transferred to Digital Print 2006 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 1990, 1996 Nancy Edwards All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0^15-22000-9 Publisher's Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent For Huw CONTENTS Illustrations IX A Note on Radiocarbon Dates xn Preface xm i The Roman Impact 4 Food and Farming 49 The nature of the evidence 4 9 Climate, soils and vegetation 50 2 Settlement: Ring-Forts 6 The farming landscape 5 2 Landscape 6 Livestock and other domesticated animals 5 6 Social and political organization 8 Crop husbandry 60 The nature of the evidence 8 Hunting, fishing and gathering 64 The problem of chronology 9 Conclusion 67 Ring-forts II Terminology and classification 12 Origins and chronology 15 Siting, enclosures and entrances 19 Houses 22 Souterrains 29 Craft, Exchange and Trade 68 Other ring-fort structures 32 Pottery 68 Ring-forts in the landscape 32 Imported pottery 68 The role of ring-forts 33 Native pottery 73 Wood 75 3 Other Settlement Types 34 Leather 79 Crannogs 34 Textiles and dress 80 Origins and chronology 35 Bone, antler and horn 83 Siting and distribution 37 Metal-working 86 The crannog structure 38 Iron-working 86 The role of crannogs 41 Copper and copper-alloy working 90 Promontory forts 4i Gold and silver 92 Knowth and Clogher 43 Enamel and glass 92 Other settlements 44 Stone and related materials 95 Conclusion 47 Exchange and trade 96 6 The Church 99 7 Art 132 The historical background 99 Problems 132 The nature of the evidence IOI Ornamental metalwork 133 Ogham stones 103 Illuminated manuscripts 148 Large ecclesiastical sites 104 Stone sculpture 161 Location 104 Conclusion 171 Layout 105 Structures 112 Estates 114 Small ecclesiastical sites and hermitages 114 8 The Vikings 172 Church architecture 121 The Viking raids and sett! 172 Round towers 127 Hoards 174 Towns 179 Burial 129 Dublin 179 Conclusion 131 \A7ntprfnrrl 188 Viking settlement outside the towns 189 Conclusion 191 References 193 Bibliography 203 Index 219