Early Medieval farming and food production: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence from aarchaeological excavations in Ireland

Agriculture played an important role in the organisation of economy and society in early medieval Ireland (cal ad 400–1150). This paper examines archaeobotanical evidence for agricultural production and consumption, incorporating newly available data. Analysis of evidence from 60 sites revealed that hulled barley and oat were the dominant crops of this period. Naked wheat was present at many sites, but was not the primary crop in most cases. Rye was a minor crop in all locations where recorded. Other crops—including flax, pea and bean—were occasionally present. These crop choices provide a contrast with evidence from many other regions in contemporary Europe. In the case of Ireland, there is increased evidence for crops during the second half of the early medieval period, both in terms of the number of sites where remains were recovered and also the variety of crops cultivated; this may reflect a shift towards a greater emphasis on arable agriculture. The contribution of documentary sources and scientific analyses towards investigating food products is also highlighted in this study.

Agriculture, settlement and society in Early Medieval Ireland

During the early medieval period, Ireland was politically organised into a large number of very small kingdoms. Unlike much of Western Europe, it had not been incorporated into the Roman Empire, and as a consequence, settlement remained exclusively rural in character until the Viking period. Extensive documentary, archaeological, zooarchaeological and macro-plant evidence provides a detailed reconstruction of the livestock and arable economy of the period. Cattle ownership formed the basis of wealth as well as being an indicator of status in society, and this is reflected in its clear dominance of the livestock economy during this period. From the eighth century onwards, however, cereal production appears to grow in importance as subsistence farming gave way to the production of agricultural surplus. This is reflected in cereal diversification and in the construction of watermills and more efficient grain-drying kilns. At the same time, settlement underwent significant changes and the relative importance of cattle in some areas began to decline.

Containing precious metals: hallmarking, minting and the materiality of gold and silver in medieval and modern England.

This book chapter extends the argument constructed by Oakley in his conference paper ‘Containing gold: Institutional attempts to define and constrict the values of precious metal objects’ presented at ‘Itineraries of the Material’, a conference held at Goethe Universitaet, Frankfurt am Main in 2011. Oakley’s chapter investigates the social forces that define the identities, social pathways and physical movement of objects made of precious metal. It presents a case study in which constitutive substance rather than the conceptual object is the key driver behind the social trajectories of numerous artefacts and their reception by contemporary audiences. This supports the main contention of the book as a whole: the need to reconsider, and when necessary challenge, the dominance of the social biography of objects in the study of material culture. Oakley’s research used historical and ethnographic approaches, including three years’ of ethnographic field research in the jewellery industry. This included training as a precious metal assayer at the Birmingham Assay Office and observing the industry and public response to government proposals to abolish the hallmarking legislation. This fieldwork was augmented by archive, library and object collection research on the histories of assaying and goldsmithing. Oakley presents an analysis of the historical development and contemporary social relevance of hallmarking, a technological process that has never previously been subject to ethnographic study, yet is fundamental to one of the UK’s creative industries.