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Sponsored by: Archaeological Institute of America
The early medieval period in Ireland is well known both historically and archaeology, but the Iron Age period (roughly 600 BCE to 400 CE) that preceded it is far less well studied. One of the most interesting features of the Irish Iron Age is the appearance of a series of large hilltop enclosures that are known as “royal sites.” These were not occupations sites, but they appear to have been the sites of periodic ritual feasting and other activities. This talk will discuss the archaeological excavations that have been carried out at Dún Ailinne, Co. Kildare, the most extensively excavated of these royal sites. The talk will include a summary of the original 1968-75 excavations where I was a student excavator, as well as the more recent programs of survey (2006-08) and excavation (2016-present) at the site.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
This is a short and accessible article that describes the work that was done by Prof. Bernard Wailes: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/excavations-at-dun-ailinne/
Here is the link to the Wikipedia article which has a list of more recent publications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAn_Ailinne
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