A new environmental archaeology blog!

This is a new blog, established by environmental archaeologists working in Ireland (there are many of us, working in third level institutions, in companies and operating as sole traders). We set up the blog because we think what we do is fascinating, and we want to share it with a wider audience!

Environmental archaeology is the study of human-environment interactions through the scientific investigation of ancient remains. The remains often derive from archaeological excavations. Environmental archaeologists analyse a broad variety of material, including remains of plants, wood, animals, insects and many other types of material. These analyses reveal what people ate in the past, how they organised their economies, and how people interacted with their local environments and wider landscapes.

This blog will showcase interesting discoveries from environmental archaeology in Ireland. This could include insights into the diet of Ireland’s earliest hunter-gatherers, how we deal with enormous datasets, impacts of changing environments during later prehistory, and explorations of identity through the study of exotic medieval foods. 

The blog will start out by posting one article per month. Each article will be written by a different environmental archaeologist, which means you’ll get a chance to meet us and hear about our wide variety of research interests. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask us questions via the comments section. We hope you follow this blog and enjoy it.