Ancient Foods Research Group
Director: Assoc. Prof. (opens in a new window)Meriel McClatchie
Who are we?
We are a research group at UCD School of Archaeology that brings together researchers who are investigating ancient foods, usually focusing on plant foods. The research group is based at the Archaeobotany Laboratory in the Ardmore Annexe.
Current members: (opens in a new window)Adam Collins (Research Assistant), (opens in a new window)Erin Crowley-Champoux (Research Scientist), (opens in a new window)Penny Johnston (Research Scientist), (opens in a new window)Meriel McClatchie (Associate Professor), Marc Morris (PhD student), Keelin Murphy (MLitt student)
What do we do?
We are researchers who are actively engaged in finding out about the foods that people ate in the past, how these foods were prepared, and what this tells us about daily lives, cultural values and social interactions. We make use of many different approaches in our investigations, including archaeological science, experimental archaeology, ethnography and history. We participate in and organise events where we can share knowledge, enable networking and encourage collaborations. Events include seminars, laboratory sessions and open days.
What research are we undertaking?
Current projects include
- Meriel McClatchie, Penny Johnston and Erin Crowley-Champoux, "FOODSEC: Food security in Bronze Age Ireland", website
- Meriel McClatchie and Adam Collins, "CROPREVIVE: Mapping underutilised crops in Ireland", website
- Meriel McClatchie, Marc Morris and Keelin Murphy, "DIVERSICROP: harnessing the potential of underutilized crops to promote sustainable food production", (opens in a new window)temporary website
- Meriel McClatchie, "FOODCULT: Food, culture and identity in Ireland, c. 1550-1650", (opens in a new window)website
- Marc Martucci Morris, "Cooking and Cuisine of the Messapians - Between Seas and Spheres", website
- Keelin Murphy, "Investigating foodways at the ecclesiastical site of Glendalough Ireland, AD 600-1500", website coming soon
Completed projects include
- Jessica Gleman, "Behind the Brew: The Materiality of Alcoholic Fermentation in Early Medieval Ireland, A.D. 400-1100" (completed PhD)
- David Stone, "The Landscape of Medieval Barda, Azerbaijan 6th - 13th Centuries AD" (completed PhD)
- Aoife Soo, "An archaeobotanical analysis of the Geometric and Hellenistic periods at Krania, Greece" (completed MSc)