PhD Scholarship in Medieval Archaeology
THE DESERTED TOWN OF NEWTOWN JERPOINT, CO. KILKENNY, AND ITS HINTERLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, LANDSCAPE HISTORY, AGRI-TOURISM
Applications are invited for a 4-year PhD project funded by Teagasc's Walsh Fellowship programme, in partnership with the Heritage Council of Ireland
Building on an earlier survey and assessment commissioned by the Heritage Council of Ireland, the aim of this project is to create the fullest documentation of the deserted medieval town of Newtown Jerpoint and its hinterland, as well as the most comprehensive reconstruction of its landscape/environmental history, by deploying the fullest range of non-intrusive archaeological techniques available.
Recognising that Newtown Jerpoint is now marketed as a tourist destination (in 'Ireland's Ancient East'), the project also seeks to develop for visitors a detailed and accurate narrative of the site’s history, accounting for its national and international comparative contexts, and by so doing to enrich considerably for those visitors the experience of exploring the Jerpoint district. It is fully intended that this project, because it is focused on an archaeological site that requires explanation in order to attract a wide cohort of visitors, will inform policy and strategy on the integration of other rural archaeological sites (including but not confined to Deserted Medieval Villages) into the agri-tourism sector.
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates who have a specialist interest in medieval settlement and landscape archaeology, and are industrious, ambitious, curious and imaginative. Some knowledge of geophysics, remote sensing, palynology and other comparable techniques will be an advantage, as will an interest in public archaeology, but these are not prerequisites to an application. Demonstrable skills in networking and in the building of community relationships are desirable.
The successful candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student in UCD School of Archaeology, under the supervision of Professor Tadhg O’Keeffe, and with guidance from Ian Doyle (Heritage Council of Ireland), Stuart Green (Teagasc) and Dr Rob Sands (UCD). The successful candidate will be expected to co-author with members of the research team a monograph on the entire Jerpoint/Newtown Jerpoint complex. The project delivery will be carried out under the guidance of a broadly based advisory group with members drawn from Teagasc, the Heritage Council, UCD, and the land owners.
The value of the Walsh Fellowship is €22,000 per annum out of which the recipient pays college fees. Payment is monthly. The candidate is exempt from income tax. Direct costs for running the project – equipment, licenses, travel, and so on – will be met through Heritage Council funding which will be provided directly to University College Dublin.
The deadline for submission of a letter of interest, a CV, and the names of two referees, is Friday, March 1st, 2019. The successful candidate will register for the PhD no later than September 2019.
A competitive selection process, which may include interviews, will operate.
For further information, please contact Prof. Tadhg O’Keeffe (opens in a new window)tadhg.okeeffe@ucd.ie