Early Medieval Archaeology Project (EMAP) - Phase 1
Principal Investigators
Dr Aidan O'Sullivan, Dr
Rob Sands, Conor
McDermott, Dr Jon O'Neill, Dr
Helen Lewis and Dr Steve
Davis
Funding
The
Heritage Council (Archaeological Research Grants Scheme
2007)
EMAP International Expert Group
Prof.
Martin Carver, Dr
Nancy Edwards, Dr
Stephen Driscoll, Dr David
Griffiths, Dr
Finbar McCormick, Dr
Mick Monk, Margaret Gowen,
Donald Murphy, Eamonn P.
Kelly, John
Bradley, Chris
Corlett
,
Dr Niall Brady, Dr
Brian Lacey, Dr Elizabeth O'Brien, Dr Stephen Mandal, Dr Finola O'Carroll, Dr Tomás Ó Carragáin, Ronan Swan .
Abstract
The Early Medieval Archaeology Project
(EMAP) was established in UCD School of Archaeology seeks to promote
the analysis and publication
of the extraordinary range of new archaeological evidence recently uncovered
by ‘Celtic Tiger’ infrastructural development (NRA
road schemes,
Bord
Gais pipelines, housing construction, etc). This phase of EMAP, through generous
Heritage Council funding from the Archaeological Research Grants Scheme
2007, employed a researcher to prepare initial databases
that will quantify the scope and scale of the challenge facing Irish
archaeology.
EMAP’s aims and objectives are to enable scholars to access emerging archaeological data and thus to create new understandings of the landscapes, environments, technologies and social identities of the peoples of Ireland, AD 400-1100.
EMAP intends to: a) prepare databases and enable the production of synopses of key early medieval site excavations to be made available as on online Digital Archive/website as a resource for the entire research and academic community; b) The project will also publish a series of books and articles and will also organise, edit and publish thematic conferences on the subjects of (i). Early Medieval Settlement and Landscape; (ii.) Early Medieval Environment, Agriculture and Economy; (iii). Early Medieval Crafts, Technology and Material Culture and iv) Early medieval populations in life and death. c) Organise Research Colloquia of invited national and international experts to formulate long-term research agendas for the archaeology of early medieval Ireland.
This project is also intended to be multi-disciplinary and collaborative between academic researchers, professional archaeologists and a range of institutions and will enable archaeological, historical, environmental and geoarchaeological research to investigate this time of dramatic social, cultural and political change. EMAP has established an International Expert Panel of early medieval archaeologists and academic scholars at both a national (experts from Irish archaeological institutions and companies and scholars in UCD School of History; NUI Dept. of History; UCC Dept. of Archaeology) and at an international level (e.g. Depts. Of Archaeology at University of York, University of Oxford, University of Glasgow, University of Wales at Bangor) to enable overview and comparative discussion of the experience of Europe’s emerging peoples in the early Middle Ages.
EMAP secured further funding under the 2008 INSTAR scheme and now has its own official web site http://www.emap.ie.
