Society for Medieval Archaeology Newsletter Issue 42 November 2009 ISSN 1740-7036 EDITORIAL event is on 14 November: The Origins of Medieval Field Systems. See www. The seemingly ever-growing size of the cont-ed.cam.ac.uk/research/conferences. Newsletter is testimony to the continued growth of medieval archaeology, despite The Institute of Archaeology, UCL on the present climate. I am particularly 14–15 November will host a seminar delighted to have the opportunity to on Trees, Timber and Woodland in the profi le research projects from across Anglo-Saxon World. Contact Michael G Ireland and Britain and, as the Society Shapland, [email protected] increases its efforts to engage with colleagues beyond ‘these islands’, we 27–28 November an International look forward to receiving more notices Symposium will be held in University of research from further afi eld. Members College Dublin, and will focus on the will fi nd a lot in the present issue that is INSTAR Early Medieval projects. of interest, and the conference reports Full details of the programme will be and research sections provide very available at: www.mappingdeath.ie useful overviews of new studies. There are interesting observations in the A conference entitled Roots of discussion section, and the Society also Nationhood will be held at the University seeks your feedback on our activities of Glasgow on 28–29 November. Key and publications. Preliminary details are questions to be addressed include: presented for a fi eldtrip to Rome in 2011, how have accounts of Scotland’s past reminding us that it is never too early to plan ahead. Mark Hall once again informed the ongoing political debate brings the Newsletter to its conclusion over devolution and independence? Does with a marvellous refl ection on a series archaeology and history reveal the roots of events that he has attended over the of nationhood, or are other themes of past number of months. Please continue diversity, discontinuity and far-fl ung to send me your pieces by e-mail, and connections and allegiances just as thanks to all contributors of the present compelling? See www.gla.ac.uk/media/ issue. media_123544_en.pdf DECEMBER: The Society’s AGM will take place in London on 7 December 2009. Prof.dr.em. Frans Verhaeghe (Vrije Dr. Niall Brady Universiteit Brussel) will present a lecture Project Director entitled, Highly Decorated Pottery in the The Discovery Programme Medieval Low Countries: The Dynamics 63 Merrion Square and Context of a Quality Product. See Dublin 2 News and Views below. Ireland. E-mail: [email protected] The 31st Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Annual Meeting will be held at the Department of Archaeology, Durham CONFERENCES & EVENTS, University, 17–19 December. Among the forthcoming many sessions that might be of interest NOVEMBER: The University of to medievalists are: Archaeology and Cambridge’s Institute for Continuing Englishness; Developing Landscape Education is hosting a number of Historical Ecologies: Integrating Theory research conferences with medieval with Applied Approaches; Medieval themes in 2009 and 2010. Held at the Sensory Perceptions: Beyond the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Classical Senses; and Theorising Early Research, Department of Archaeology, Medieval ‘Towns’ (c. 700–1200 AD). See University of Cambridge, the fi rst www.dur.ac.uk/tag.2009/ www.medievalarchaeology.org 2010 is the topic of an international conference FEBRUARY: The University of of the Institute for Name-Studies at Cambridge’s Institute for Continuing University of Nottingham on 23–27 June Education will host its second event 2010. Topics will include: differences in on 13 February: Medieval Parks: naming practices in different regions of Recent Research, which is being held in England; relations with place-names in association with the Medieval Settlement neighbouring countries; place-names and Research Group. See www.cont-ed.cam. dialectal variation; and reassessments of ac.uk/research/conferences varying methodological and disciplinary approaches to place-names. See The Society for Medieval Archaeology www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins is planning a post-graduate colloquium at the University of Birmingham, JULY: The International Medieval 19–20 February. The conference will Congress (IMC) at the University of be free to all members of the Society Leeds will take place on 12–15 July. The currently registered on a post-graduate largest conference of its kind in Europe, programme. For details and to submit the event will feature over 1,000 papers proposals, check the website and and 375 academic sessions. For the facebook, or contact Amanda Forster, call for papers and information about [email protected] or Jill Campbell, organising sessions, see www.leeds.ac.uk/ [email protected] ims/imc/imc2010_call APRIL: The 24th Annual Conference SEPTEMBER: The Society for Post- of the Castle Studies Group will take Medieval Archaeology will hold place on 8–11 April. Based in Taunton, a conference at the University of the theme is Castles of West Wessex Glasgow from 3–5 September. The – Somerset and parts of Dorset/Wiltshire. theme will be: Engaging the Recent Details of connections, costs and further Past: Public, Political, Post-Medieval information will be supplied with the Archaeology. The conference will focus Castle Studies Group Journal mailing in on the contemporary context of post- December/January. See the CSG website medieval archaeology – the archaeology at: www.castlestudiesgroup.org.uk/ of the period from c.1500 to the present in Britain and Ireland, Europe The University of Cambridge’s Institute and countries affected by European for Continuing Education third event is colonialism and imperialism. See on 24 April: Vernacular Architecture in www.spma.org.uk/ the Fens. See www.cont-ed.cam.ac.uk/ research/conferences CONFERENCE REPORTS MAY: The Society for Medieval Archaeology is sponsoring a session at the The Early Medieval Wales Archaeology 2010 International Congress on Medieval Research Group held its twenty-fi fth Studies at Western Michigan University, anniversary colloquium at the university USA, 13–16 May. Following the SMA’s in Bangor, Gwynedd, on 25–26 April successful session at the 2009 Congress, 2009. Its aim was, above all, to put the next year’s session is entitled New archaeology of early medieval Wales in Directions in European Castle Research context: there was strong representation and will seek to highlight the vibrant and from Scotland and Ireland, with interdisciplinary nature of castle research particularly useful comparative material in the 21st century. Attracting over 3,000 from both, and some from England and scholars annually, the ICMS is one of the Denmark too. This was an unusually rich world’s largest gatherings of medievalists. conference, with 18 papers and plenty of See www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/ good discussion, and it was exceptionally well planned. JUNE: Perceptions of Place: English Place-Name Study and Regional Variety 2 not only the Christian landscape but also the complexities of the political landscape in north Wales, observing that the single stone source of these monuments carries implications for the control of resources as well as for their distribution. Kristján Ahronson and Karen Pollock then drew attention to the unrecognized potential of cave sites in Wales, and the need to contextualize their early medieval occupation, while Marion Dowd showed how important cave occupation could be in Ireland in the early middle ages – with 26 early medieval of the 100 or so archaeologically signifi cant sites, her analysis emphasized how wrong we are to think of cave-dwellers as ‘primitive’. Bodies and bones, both human and animal, were the subject of four equally enlightening papers. Janet Montgomery, taking examples from the Scottish Isles, talked about isotope analysis and its The cross at Llanfi hangel Tre’r Beirdd, value, particularly when applied to tooth Anglesey, a new discovery made by Nancy enamel, for identifying immigrants in a Edwards during fi eldwork for Corpus 3 community. Mick Wysocki and Andrew Davidson summarized analysis of the Firstly we considered places. Alan 122 stone cist and (later) dug burials Lane talked about one of the three key at Tywyn y Capel on Holy Island off sites that has emerged in Wales in the the west coast of Anglesey, noting the course of the last 25 years – Llan-gors indicators of metabolic stress in elements crannog – summarizing the history of the dug burial population, as also of excavations, drawing attention of an increase in the number of deaths to its Irish links, and focussing on in the 24–45 year old range – hints, explanations for its construction in the perhaps, of increasingly hard times. Both 890s; Aidan O’Sullivan, remarking that animal bone papers (Jacqui Mulville on his colleagues have too much rather the 35,000 fragments of animal bone than too little early medieval material, from Llan-gors, Finbar McCormick sketched the context and outcomes of on the signifi cance of understanding the phenomenal number of excavations cows) showed the enormous importance in Ireland since 1995 and the issues that of animal bone studies for our now confront Irish archaeologists, not understanding of social context and least the need for research on the data economic change. Interestingly, there recovered. Issues also emerged from is far more evidence of pig at Llan-gors Tomás Ó Carragáin’s description of the than is usual at early medieval sites in ‘Making Christian Landscapes’ project Britain, and there is a relatively high in Ireland (highlighted in issue 41 of incidence of hunted animals. It was the Society’s Newsletter), designed to good to have a succinct summary of explore some of the new data in selected McCormick’s views on the changing role areas in detail; he emphasized the high of cattle in the early Irish economy and density of churches, including many a lively discussion probed the origin of on secular estates, and the clustering ringforts and the signifi cance for humans of non-ecclesiastical burials, and called of age and place of butchering.