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Abstract
ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS OF excavated early medieval houses coupled with the examination of early Irish texts suggest that the location, layout and dimensions of houses were instrumental in communicating status in early medieval Ulster. Changes to houses and settlements from the 9th century onwards may reflect an insecure society adapting to major socio-economic changes and the threat of slave rather than cattle raiders.2
I am grateful to Dr Chris Lynn and Jackie McDowell who, during my earlier research, were particularly helpful in allowing access to some of the Deer Park Farms data ahead of publication. Thanks also to Professor Ray Howell, Dr Jon Kissock and Dr Maddy Gray (University of South Wales) and Dr Aidan O’Sullivan (University College Dublin) for their helpful criticism, advice and encouragement.
Notes
1 32 Boverton Street, Roath, Cardiff. [email protected]
2 For a full database of examined houses see Jones 2010; 2012.
3 The map in Fig 1 includes the counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The ancient province of Ulster including these areas was supposedly ruled by an over king with a capital at Navan Fort (Charles-Edwards 2011).
4 See O’Sullivan and Nicholl 2010. Possible excavated unenclosed exceptions include Terryhoogan, Co Armagh and Drumadonnell, Co Down (McSparron 2007; 2001). Although crannogs or artificial islands were also constructed and occupied during this period Ulster did not, until very recently, have any significant excavated examples. It is anticipated that study of the recently discovered crannog at Cherrymount, Co. Fermanagh, will further enhance our understanding of early medieval settlement in Ulster (Chapple 2012).
5 Lynn 1978a.
6 Jones 2010; 2012.
7 Lynn 1986, 150–51.
8 Stout 1997, 33.
9 It is most clearly displayed in phases 6a, 6b and 8 where houses X/Zeta (phase 6a), X (phase 6b), and G/W2 (phase 8) were the largest and central (Lynn and McDowell 2011, figs 71, 7·7 and 8·8).
10 Jones 2012, 94–5.
11 Collins 1968, 62–63; Lynn 1978b, 57.
12 Waterman 1958, 41–2.
13 Proudfoot 1953.
14 MacNeill 1923.
15 Charles-Edwards 1986, 67.
16 Charles-Edwards 2000, 73.
17 Lynn 1994, 90.
18 Kelly 2000, 451; Shipman 2006, 152; Binchy 1978, vol 2, 509.
19 Lynn and McDowell 2011, 127–8.
20 O’ Curry 1873, vol 3, 29; Binchy 1978, vol 2, 895. For dating of the gloss see Breatnach 2005, 40.
21 See Karl 2008, 71.
22 McDowell 2004, 196–7.
23 Wincott Heckett 2011, 362.
24 Moreland 2000, 86.
25 For typology, see Lynn 1994, tab 3, 87.
26 See Jones 2012, 138–62.
27 Irish round-houses associated with souterrains include examples at Bray Head, Leacanabuaile and Cathair Fionnúrach, Ballynaveenoragh, Co Kerry: Hayden 2000; Ó Ríordáin and Foy 1941; Gibbons 1999. Rectangular Irish examples with souterrains include the Knowth houses, Randalstown in Co Meath and KnockDrum, Co Cork: Eogan 2012; Campbell 1985; Somerville 1931.
28 Warner 1979; Mallory and McNeill 1991, 196.
29 Lucas 1975.
30 Clinton 2001.
31 Ibid, 60.
32 See Lynn 1988, 34.
33 Lynn 1981–2, 92.
34 Waterman 1956b, 87.
35 Waterman 1956a.
36 Edwards 1996, 72–5.
37 Waterman 1971, 68.
38 Deer Park Farms phases 7–13 (sometimes called platform raths).
39 Kerr 2007 115.
40 Murray and McCormick 2007, 106–8.
41 For Slaves in Ireland see Holm 1986. It is also possible that the raised settlements also provided ‘wider fields of view’ as a response to such attacks (Lyttleton and Monk 2007, 13).
42 Hacihasanoglu and Hacihasanoglu 2006.