The Politics of the Pipe: Clay Pipes and Tobacco Consumption in Galway, Ireland

In this paper, clay pipes and the historical record are used to explore the illicit importation of tobacco in seventeenth-century Galway, Ireland. This is part of a wider tradition of the politics of smoking, including the proliferation of the clay pipe, the widespread smuggling of tobacco, and the overtly political nineteenth-century pipes that touted nationalist emblems. Here, the juxtaposition of the archaeological and historical records locates subversive local agency in the face of overarching colonial mandates. Colonialism, trade, consumption, and identity are linked in an examination of a merchant community's maneuvers through the expanding Atlantic economy and the restricted colonial mandates that marked the world around them.     

Vegetation history at the multi-period prehistoric complex at Ballynahatty,Co. Down,Northern Ireland

Palaeoecological methods can provide an environmental context for archaeological sites, enabling the nature of past human activity to be explored from an indirect but alternative perspective. Through a palynological study of a small fen peatland located within the catchment of a multi-period prehistoric complex at Ballynahatty, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, we reconstruct the vegetation history of the area during the early prehistoric period. The pollen record reveals tentative evidence for Mesolithic activity in the area at 6410–6220 cal BC, with woodland disturbance identified during the Mesolithic–Neolithic transitional period ca. 4430–3890 cal BC. A more significant impact on the landscape is observed in the Early Neolithic from 3950 to 3700 cal BC, with an opening up of the forest and the establishment of a mixed agricultural economy. This activity precedes and continues to be evident through the Mid-Neolithic during which megalithic tombs and related burial sites were constructed at Ballynahatty. Due to chronological uncertainties and a possible hiatus in peat accumulation in the fen, the contemporary environment of the Ballynahatty timber circle complex (constructed and used ca. 3080–2490 cal BC) and henge (dating to the third millennium cal BC) cannot certainly be established. Nevertheless, the pollen record suggests that the landscape remained open through to the Bronze Age, implying a long continuity of human activity in the area. These findings support the idea that the Ballynahatty prehistoric complex was the product of a gradual and repeated restructuring of the ritual and ceremonial landscape whose significance continued to be recognised throughout the early prehistoric period.     

The origin of chantries: some further Anglo-Norman evidence

It is suggested that Sir Howard Colvin's theory about the origin of the chantry as a response to liturgical overloading of the regular monastery with commemorative liturgy is not the full story. The chantry was preceded by institutions more obviously its precursors than the monasteries: secular colleges and the chapels of manorial precincts. It is suggested here that the chantry arose out of a more complex cross-fertilisation of ideas and institutions than Colvin suggests, and also that the laity had as much a part in the process as the monks. The article also points to particular moves towards the individualised mass of commemoration within the Angevin royal family in the 1170s and 1180s as an impetus to the evolution of the chantry.     

Excavation of an early 17th-century glassmaking site at Glasshouse,Shinrone, Co. Offaly,Ireland

An archaeological research excavation was conducted in the area immediately surrounding an upstanding glassmaking furnace near Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland. It dates to the early to mid 17th century and was built and operated by French Huguenots, probably de Hennezells (de Hennezel/Henzeys/Hensie) who had settled in this region as part of the Crown plantation of King’s County (now Co. Offaly). This furnace, which employed wood rather than coal as a fuel, is a very rare survival, with no other upstanding examples known in Ireland, Britain or the Lorraine region of France where the form probably originated.     

The growth of secure inheritance in Anglo-Norman England

The following paper traces the crystallization of inheritance custom in England from 1086 to 1154. Inheritance of baronial estates has long been considered by historians to have been tenuous in the reigns of William the Conqueror and his sons, but by dating instances of forfeiture, escheat and other forms of disinheritance, and by comparing these dates with those of political turmoil, it can be shown that the custom became fairly secure and regular in the latter half of the reign of Henry I, only to be disrupted in the civil wars of Stephen's reign.     

The Anglo-Norman succession debate of II26: Prelude to Stephen's anarchy

On 1 January 1127 Henry 1 made his magnates and prelates swear to accept his daughter Maud as heiress to England and Normandy. In the months prior to the oathtaking, certain identifiable curiales ～ Robert earl of Gloucester, Brian fitz Count, and David king of Scots - seem to have been supporting Maud's candidacy. Others, including Roger bishop of Salisbury and his kinsmen, appear to have opposed her and perhaps to have supported Henry's nephew, William Clito, as heir. The factions resurfaced at Henry's death in December 1135. William Clito having died in the meantime, Roger of Salisbury became one of Stephen of Blois' earliest and strongest supporters. Maud's former friends, Robert of Gloucester and Brian fitz Count, were temporarily immobilized by a violent break between Henry and Maud in the closing months of Henry's reign, but they, along with King David, subsequently became Maud's most active and consistent champions. The two factions differed neither in socioeconomic background nor in ideology. It was not a question of old baronial families on one side and newly-risen curiales on the other, but simply of differing personal allegiances originating in the divisions among Henry's courtiers in 1126.     

«Non urbe, non vico, non castris»: territorial control and the colonization and urbanization of Wales and Ireland under Anglo-Norman lordship

By playing on the Classical belief that urbanity is a sign of civility, urbanism has often been used by Europeans to characterize the «other» as uncivilized. In the twelfth century, contemporary chroniclers in England made much use of the myth that Wales and Ireland were unurbanized and therefore uncivilized. This conviction provided, in their view, a justification for colonizing lands in Wales and Ireland, at the western edge of the Anglo-Norman kingdom. Throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the process of this colonization was intimately linked with urbanization. This paper examines the spatial dimensions of this process and proposes two views of how urbanization facilitated colonization. First, English domination was extended geographically by the use of particular Anglo-Norman urban laws, and by the foundation of chartered towns. These laws spread English legal practices into Wales and Ireland, reinforcing the myth that these areas lacked urbanity before colonization, whilst at the same time placing them under the watchful eye of Anglo-Norman lordship. Secondly, in the creation of chartered «new» towns, Anglo-Norman lords used exclusionary devices to structure the internal spaces of towns, separating English townspeople from Welsh and Irish and in the process marking them as «outsiders» in a «colonial» society.     

A palynological and geoarchaeological investigation into Bronze Age farming at Belderg Beg,Co. Mayo,Ireland

This contribution describes the results and interpretations of geoarchaeological and palynological analyses of a soil profile near to a ¹⁴C dated Bronze Age roundhouse in a sub-peat field system at Belderg Beg, north Mayo in western Ireland, which displayed field-scale evidence of tillage in the form of cultivation ridges. This evidence of arable cultivation was supported by the presence of quernstones in the roundhouse, but there was no supporting evidence from other forms of socio-economic analysis. Soil micromorphological analysis was employed to define how the ridges were created and with what tools; pollen analysis was used to characterise the surface vegetation and test the purpose of the ridges. The results unequivocally showed that a phase of ard cultivation was followed after a brief hiatus by ridge-and-furrow tillage. There were tentative indications of possible amendment of the earlier, ard-worked soil, and more definitive evidence of midden material addition to the ridged soil. An AMS radiocarbon assay on the base of peat overlying the ridges indicated that tillage occurred in the Mid to Late Bronze Age.     

The growth of secure inheritance in Anglo-Norman England

The following paper traces the crystallization of inheritance custom in England from 1086 to 1154. Inheritance of baronial estates has long been considered by historians to have been tenuous in the reigns of William the Conqueror and his sons, but by dating instances of forfeiture, escheat and other forms of disinheritance, and by comparing these dates with those of political turmoil, it can be shown that the custom became fairly secure and regular in the latter half of the reign of Henry I, only to be disrupted in the civil wars of Stephen's reign.     

From Langford to South Cerney: The Rood in Anglo-Norman England

Abstract

Two fragments of a figure of Christ crucified from South Cerney parish church comprise the sole survivor of a Romanesque wooden Rood with an English provenance. This paper argues that it is an example of a Triumphkreuz originally located at the chancel arch of South Cerney church and seeks to establish its relationship to both pre-Conquest monumental stone Rood sculpture and wooden Triumphkreuze in northern Europe and Scandinavia. The Triumphkreuz appears to have been a standard feature of the greater churches of Norman England, but how common it was in post-Conquest parish churches is less clear. While church dedications suggest that devotion to the Holy Cross was particularly strong in south-west England, late-11th- and 12th-century mural painting and sculpture of chancel arches in parish churches over a wide area exhibit a close connection with the Rood.     

Archaeological applications of testate amoebae analyses: a case study from Derryville,Co. Tipperary,Ireland

The value of testate amoebae in the reconstruction of changes in surface wetness from ombrotrophic mires is well known, but the potential value of such records in specifically archaeological investigations has not yet been investigated. This note describes the analysis of testate amoebae for a sediment sequence from the multi-period wetland archaeological site of Derryville, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. The reconstructed watertable is presented and plotted against the range of dates from excavated archaeological features in the wetland area. The data demonstrate a clear association between periods of low watertable and increased anthropogenic activity as reflected by site construction. The value of testate amoebae in future integrated archaeological investigations of wetland systems is discussed.     

The Rose Theatre: Twenty Years of Continuous Monitoring,Lessons, and Legacy

Abstract

The discovery of the Rose Theatre in 1989 led to the implementation of new planning guidance focused on the presumption that the preferred response to development impacting on archaeological sites would be mitigation and preservation in situ. There was little understanding of what the impact of mitigation would be on the quality of the buried evidence and the Rose Theatre site was the first to be scientifically monitored. As a direct result research was implemented and the PARIS series of conferences were initiated.     

The Anglo-Norman succession debate of II26: Prelude to Stephen's anarchy

On 1 January 1127 Henry 1 made his magnates and prelates swear to accept his daughter Maud as heiress to England and Normandy. In the months prior to the oathtaking, certain identifiable curiales ～ Robert earl of Gloucester, Brian fitz Count, and David king of Scots - seem to have been supporting Maud's candidacy. Others, including Roger bishop of Salisbury and his kinsmen, appear to have opposed her and perhaps to have supported Henry's nephew, William Clito, as heir.The factions resurfaced at Henry's death in December 1135. William Clito having died in the meantime, Roger of Salisbury became one of Stephen of Blois' earliest and strongest supporters. Maud's former friends, Robert of Gloucester and Brian fitz Count, were temporarily immobilized by a violent break between Henry and Maud in the closing months of Henry's reign, but they, along with King David, subsequently became Maud's most active and consistent champions.The two factions differed neither in socioeconomic background nor in ideology. It was not a question of old baronial families on one side and newly-risen curiales on the other, but simply of differing personal allegiances originating in the divisions among Henry's courtiers in 1126.     

Excavations at Lismahon,Co. Down

Abstract

There is a Growing recognition that introduced species are direct records of cultural activity and that studies of their biogeography have the potential to tell us about patterns of human migration, trade and even ideology. In England the fallow deer (Dama dama dama) is one of the earliest and most successful animal introductions, whose establishment has traditionally been attributed to the Normans. However, recent investigations of Old English place names have raised the possibility that the term *pohha/pocca relates to fallow deer, suggesting that the species was widely established in the Anglo-Saxon landscape. This suggestion deserves serious consideration as it has implications for our understanding both of AngloSaxon society and the impact of the Norman Conquest. This paper therefore presents a critical review of the literary, iconographic, place-name and zooarchaeological evidence for fallow deer in early medieval England and beyond.