Mapping death : burial in late iron age and early medieval Ireland / edited by Elizabeth O'Brien.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

O'Brien, Elizabeth (Archaeologist), editor.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Burial--Ireland--History--To 1500.

Burial.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Early Christian--Ireland.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Early Christian.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Medieval--Ireland.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Medieval.

Iron age--Ireland.

Iron age.

Antiquities.

History.

Ireland--Antiquities.

Ireland.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 289 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Dublin, Ireland : Four Courts Press Ltd, 2021.

Summary:

Burial rites and associated events can provide a unique insight into the attitudes and beliefs of diverse communities at any given moment in time. This book ? the outcome of forty years of research ? takes an interdisciplinary approach to burial practices in Ireland in order to interpret and to chart the development of burial rites as they appear in the archaeological record of the late Iron Age (c.200 BC?AD 300) and early medieval period (c.AD 400?800). Sources used include archaeological excavation evidence; c14 (radiocarbon) dating evidence; strontium and oxygen isotope evidence for movement of peoples; and osteo-archaeological evidence. This is combined with a careful and discerning examination of references to death, burial and associated events that appear in Irish hagiography, penitentials, laws and canons compiled during the seventh and eighth centuries. Topics covered include: the transition from cremation to inhumation; re-use of ancient ancestral burial places; occasional use of grave-goods; funeral feasts; atypical or deviant burials; mobility of people within and into Ireland; the exceptional burials of some women; the cessation of burial of Christians among their ancestors; and burial in early Church cemeteries.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Iron Age cremation burial, C.400BC

AD400

2. Iron Age inhumation burial, C.200BC

AD200

3. Inhumation in the Early Medieval period, C.AD400

800

4. Grave, burial and secular cemetery types

5. Grave goods

6. Atypical or deviant burials

7. Mobility of peoples

8. Unusual or exceptional women: evidence from the grave

9. Cessation of burial of Christians among `pagan' ancestors

10. Church cemeteries

Conclusion

GAZETTEERS

1. Artefacts in cremation deposits

2. Early Medieval burial and cemetery types

3. Early Medieval burials with grave goods

4. Early Medieval atypical or deviant burials

5. Iron Age and Early Medieval burials selected for isotopic analysis

6. Early Medieval exceptional or unusual women's burial

7. Ecclesiastical sites.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

Electronic version: O'Brien, Elizabeth. Mapping death.

ISBN:

1846828597

9781846828591

OCLC:

1139766345

Publisher Number:

99988407322