NATIONAL MONUMENTS SERVICE 7th ANNUAL ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE
Traces: the archaeology of small things
DATE: 12 October 2024
Monuments and well-preserved artefacts are what usually come to mind when we think of archaeology, but archaeologists can glean a lot from small things too. This conference will take us from the micro to the macro. In Traces of a bigger picture we will hear about how items like minuscule pollen grains can fill out the story of a peopled landscape or reveal an overlooked community; Senses of the past and Musket balls and molecules will investigate some more surprising research into the past through the senses of sound, taste and smell; and The devil in the detail takes a close look at the finer details of medieval metalwork and manuscripts to reveal the work of skilled craftspeople.
Speakers include: Dr Susan Curran, Survey Archaeologist with the Discovery Programme and expert on the Hill of Tara; Dr Gillian Plunkett, archaeologist and palaeoecologist at Queen’s University Belfast; Dr Joshua Kumbani, archaeologist, whose research focuses on archaeoacoustics, rock art and analysis of music-related artefacts; Dr Niamh Whitfield, who specialises in the early Middle Ages, especially metalwork from Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England; Prof. Pádraig Ó Macháin, Principal Investigator on the Inks and Skins Project, an interdisciplinary project dedicated to the investigation of the materiality of the late medieval Gaelic manuscripts; culinary historian Brigitte Webster, who specialises in Tudor and seventeenth-century food; Dr Caro Verbeek, researcher of olfactory heritage at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; and Dr Damian Shiels, archaeologist and historian, who specialises in battlefield and conflict archaeology.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
To view any of the lectures just click on its title.
08.30–09.15 Registration
09.20–09.30 Opening address: Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform
Session 1: Musket-balls and molecules
Chair: Dr Paul Logue
09.35–10.10—Preserved moments of traumatic time: the archaeology of small finds on Irish conflict sites
Dr Damian Sheils
10.15–10.50—Inhaling heritage? On the (re)creation and effects of the smell of the Battle of Waterloo
Dr Caro Verbeek
10.50–11.00 Q & A
11.00–11.25 Tea/coffee
Session 2: Traces of a bigger picture
Chair: Dr Michelle Comber
11.30–12.05—Hidden traces: building the bigger picture from (below) the ground up
Dr Susan Curran
12.10–12.45—Contextualising the human past through pollen analysis
Dr Gill Plunkett
12.45–12.55 Q & A
13.00–13.50 Lunch
Session 3: Senses of the past
Chair: Dr Joanna Day
13.55–14.30—A snapshot of the music archaeology of southern Africa
Dr Joshua Kumbani
14.35–15.10—A pinch of Tudor seasoning: restoring past repast
Brigitte Webster
15.10–15.20 Q & A
15.20–15.40 Tea/coffee
Session 4: The devil in the detail
Chair: Dr Grace O’Keeffe
15.45–16.20—Spectroscopy and the Irish manuscript
Prof. Pádraig Ó Macháin
16.25–17.00—Tiny tell-tale details on Insular metalwork
Dr Niamh Whitfield
17.00–17.10 Q & A
17.15–17.25—Close of conference: Michael MacDonagh, Chief State Archaeologist, National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
