The dynamics of Bronze Age upland settlements in Ireland and Northern Britain: a comparative perspective

Description

The Irish and Northern Britain Bronze Age artefact record is rich in finds of extraordinary beauty and artisanal skill, yet upland settlement sites that offer reliable absolute dating can be elusive. Many sites have traditionally been dated through finds typology or relative dating. Settlement patterns in upland areas have contradictions indicating simultaneous settlement expansion and contraction during periods of palynologically visible climate change. The need to understand how past societies dealt with major climate events has been prioritized in scholarship, however the existing archaeological record in most upland areas of Northern Britain and Ireland is not granular enough to avoid false ‘cause and effect’ conclusions and requires refinement to generational levels where possible. This project focused on assessing radiocarbon dating and paleoenvironmental data to examine chronology by site type. Preliminary conclusions are presented showing that settlement, particularly in those sites highly visible within the landscape, persisted on a highly regionalized basis despite climate shifts and the evidence remains insufficient to establish any at large climate driven change.

Period	27 Apr 2024
Held at	IQUA, Ireland