Dendrochronology

Early Medieval Archaeology

Wetland Archaeology

Dating and Chronology Methods

Project title: Drumclay: a tree-ring dated narrative for an Irish crannog

The aim of this project is to construct an annual chronology for the construction, occupation and development of Drumclay crannog, Co. Fermanagh, in order to contextualise Medieval settlement in Ireland. This study aims to scrutinise life in Early Medieval and Medieval Ireland at an annual resolution, relevant to the lifetimes of the people who lived there.

This research proposes to revolutionise our understanding of Irish Medieval settlement, by constructing the first annually-resolved narrative for occupation on a crannog. The production of an alder tree-ring chronology from structural timbers will reveal the construction rate and development of the site, and its archaeological archive will be scrutinised at a resolution relevant to the occupants of the site. In particular, their adaptive strategies to socio-political, economic and environmental change will be considered. This research will provide a continuous framework with which to reassess the wider settlement record for this period

2017 Doctoral Studentship funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE)