National Archaeology Seminar 2008

Programme of Talks

9.30am Registration
10.00am Welcome & introduction
Rónán Swan, NRA Head of Archaeology (Acting)
10.10am Cultivating societies: new insights into agriculture in Neolithic Ireland
Meriel McClatchie, Archaeobotanist
10.25am Early medieval food processing technology: the miller’s tale
Neil Jackman, Excavation Director
10.45am Food for thought: newly discovered cereal-drying kilns from the south-west midlands (presentation extract)
Patricia Long, Excavation Director
11.00am Tillage crops, geophysics and the ghost ridges of County Galway (presentation extract)
Jerry O’Sullivan, NRA Archaeologist
11.10am Questions & answers
11.20am Tea/coffee
11.35am Fulachta fiadh and the beer experiment: suggested future research strategies
Declan Moore and Billy Quinn, Excavation Directors
11.50am Hair of the dog: evidence of early medieval food production and feasting at Ballyvass, Co. Kildare
Tara Doyle, Excavation Director
12.05pm To the waters and the wild: ancient hunting in County Kildare (presentation extract)
Patricia Long and Gillian McCarthy, Excavation Directors
12.15pm Excavating a meal: a multidisciplinary approach to early medieval food economy
Karen Stewart, Archaeobotanist; Auli Tourunen, Zooarchaeologist; and Alison Kyle, Pottery & Small Finds Specialist
12.35pm Questions & answers
12.45pm Lunch
2.00pm A fixed abode: Neolithic houses in County Carlow
TJ O’Connell, Senior Supervisor, and Nial O’Neill, Excavation Director
2.20pm With or without corners! Prehistoric dwellings encountered on the N8 and N7 road projects in Cork and Tipperary
John Tierney, Senior Archaeologist, and Penny Johnston, Post-excavation Manager
2.40pm Hearth and home: evidence from the recent excavation of Bronze Age structures in South Tipperary (presentation extract)
Melanie McQuade, Excavation Director
3.00pm Questions & answers
3.15pm Tea/coffee
3.30pm Reconstructing prehistoric and historic settlement in County Cork
Ken Hanley, NRA Archaeologist
3.50pm Camlin 3: a cemetery/settlement in North Tipperary (presentation extract)
Colm Flynn, Excavation Director
4.00pm Wining and dining in medieval Mullaghmast, Co Kildare 
Angus Stephenson, Excavation Director
4.20pm An 18th/19th-century bake house in Danesfort Demesne, Co. Kilkenny
Richard Jennings, Excavation Director, & Michelle Delany, Archaeological Researcher
4.30pm Questions & answers