| Paper 604-a | The Holy Hinterland: Christianisation and Material Culture in Hiberno-Scandinavian Rathdown, County Dublin
(Language: English)
Gillian Boazman, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork
Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Ecclesiastical History |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
The half-barony of Rathdown, south of the Hiberno-Scandinavian port town of Dublin, possesses the highest density of early medieval ecclesiastical sites in mainland Ireland as well as a very large proportion of land designated crossland. It contains rare excavation evidence of Scandinavian rural settlement. This is combined with a number of small, pre-Norman, mortared stone churches and a unique body of stone sculpture. The paper considers this evidence in the context of interaction between the Scandinavian incomers and the existing Irish population: a dual acculturation which became integral to the dynamic that drove the 12th-century transformation of Irish church organisation.
Paper -b:
The Viking heritage of Scotland's northern and western coasts and islands is well known. Less explored is the origin and function of a series of castle sites dating from the mid-12th century onwards, epitomised by Cubbie Roo and Old Wick, centred on Orkney and Caithness respectively. Furthermore, few conclusive efforts have so far been made to connect these sites to the series of impressive West Coast castles such as Tioram, Kisimul, Dunstaffnage, and Mingary. This paper first outlines a new group of Norse castles before discussing their relevance and value to the study of better-known and better-preserved West Coast castles.
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