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Lagore, Co. Meath, has long been a type-site for artificial lake dwellings known as crannogs since excavation in the 1930s by the Harvard Expedition. Renowned for rich finds and documented as the seat of the kings of Southern Brega (8th and 10th centuries AD), alongside the high-status and royal functions of the site, it is now widely recognised that Lagore had a long history of activity stretching back into later prehistory with evidence of deposition of human and animal remains, and metalwork of the Bronze and Iron Ages, and early medieval period. Nonetheless, a poor stratigraphic and archival record has engendered much debate about the timings and tempos of its origins, and the longer-term settlement history of the lough. This paper utilises multi-proxy analysis (Palynology, Geochemistry, Loss-on-Ignition (LOI), Colour, Fourier-transform-infrared-spectroscopy (FTIR) and Attenuated-total-reflectance (ATR)) to provide a deeper chronological understanding of land-use and occupation at Lagore. The most significant findings include the likelihood of local settlement (strong farming and parasite signals) well before the main phases of crannog construction, from at least ∼470 BC; a significant lull in population during the early-mid 5th century AD; a gradual economic recovery from ∼AD 555–620, which coincides with the main phase of crannog construction (based on geochemical and other lithological results); and a slightly later transition into a Royal residence from AD 620, marked by both intensification and diversification of agriculture (wheat/oats, rye, flax and cannabis) and a potential ironworking signal. [Display omitted] • Lagore: a site of human activity well before the main crannog occupation with land-use and parasites from at least 470 BC. • A major decline in cereals and parasites from the early-mid 5th century AD, suggests a lull in population and economy. • The main construction phase of Lagore crannog likely falls between AD 555–620. • Royal residence from ∼AD 620; marked by agricultural intensification-diversification: wheat/oats, rye, flax and cannabis). • The geochemical results display a potential ironworking signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using archaeological data, this paper investigates past population trends in Ireland as a response to recent genomic studies that have identified admixture signals in the genomes of Irish people caused by historically-recorded migration events. Among these was Norse settlement in the 9th-10th Centuries CE, which has a greater than expected signal in the contemporary population of the island. Here, we contextualise these discoveries using a large database of recently discovered archaeological sites with radiocarbon dates that we have analysed using Kernel Density Estimation techniques. We argue that the Viking migrations occurred following a 300-year period of population decrease in Ireland. This new, data-driven synthesis of the archaeological record contrasts with previous accounts of early medieval Ireland as a period of ever-growing expansion and progression. However, this new interpretation is also aligned to evidence for economic and environmental change, including recent discoveries concerning the soil nitrogen cycle and agricultural intensification. We compare historical evidence for Viking migrations to later episodes of migration between Britain and Ireland, where more details are known about the size of the incoming groups, ultimately wishing to confront the opinion that past population sizes cannot be fathomed for cultures without documentary records. Through comparison with historic analyses and census records, we make broad estimates of absolute population size in Ireland since prehistoric times, including during these demographic events, and argue that much value is added to genomic evidence for migration when these points in time are contextualised in terms of evolving population trends. • A database containing over 8000 radiocarbon dates of human activity in Ireland has been assembled. • Contextualizing the data for the period 400 to 1200 CE reveals a pronounced oscillation in activity throughout the landscape. • A long-term population model has been developed for Ireland using these radiocarbon data and historical records. • We suggest haplotype admixture in Ireland took place in the context of long term population decline. • These results mirror recent palaeoisotope studies of intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Three early medieval Irish communities within a 30-km radius in Co. Meath, Ireland, have been examined using multiple isotopes (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) to elucidate human and domesticated animal subsistence and provenance. Existing 87Sr/86Sr data from geochemical mapping of contemporary soils, plants and streamwater were compared to human and animal tooth enamel 87Sr/86Sr to assess potential past human migration, in combination with δ18O from bone collagen. Oxygen isotope (δ18O) values of human bone collagen are notably invariable, 10.0 ± 0.6‰ (n = 36), for the three archaeological sites: Collierstown, Johnstown and Raystown. Fauna (sheep, pigs, cats and a dog) δ18O collagen from Raystown are distinctly grouped between and among certain species, the first instance to our knowledge of such a result. The aggregate faunal data demonstrate that δ18O collagen values of faunal remains should not be used to infer local δ18O ranges for humans. Nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values for both domesticated animal (9.8 ± 1.7‰) and adult human (12.0 ± 0.8‰) bone collagen are tightly constrained suggesting a similar source of protein in the diet of humans. A mean carbon isotope (δ13C) value of −21.0 ± 0.4‰ for adult humans indicates overwhelming terrestrial sources of foodstuffs. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) from human dental enamel range from 0.7085-0.7110 (n = 25). Two individuals (R841 and R854), both from Raystown, are statistical outliers based on their 87Sr/86Sr and δ13C values and are likely migrants to the locality where they were buried. We note that one of these putative migrants met a particularly violent end. Highlights • Isotopes (87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) of three early medieval Irish sites are presented. • Two individuals are outliers based on 87Sr/86Sr and δ13C and are likely migrants. • Oxygen isotope (δ18O) values of human bone collagen are invariable, 10.0 ± 0.6‰. • Fauna (sheep, pigs, cats and a dog) δ18O collagen group between and among species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millets have been cultivated in Europe since the Late Neolithic but, beyond recording their presence, little is known about their use and context of consumption. As a C 4 plant, the contribution of millet on diet can be readily identified through stable isotope analysis of human bones. Using this approach, however, previous studies have been unable to distinguish direct consumption of the cereal from the consumption of millet fed animals. Historical evidence suggests that the latter was common practice. To address this issue, we present the first direct evidence for millet consumption in Medieval period using organic residue analysis. Lipid were extracted from 45 pottery vessels from the Episcopal centre in Padua, Northern Italy dating from the 6th to 10th centuries AD. Miliacin, a biomarker for broomcorn millet, was present in many of the cooking vessels tested. Based on the co-occurrence of miliacin with other food derived lipids and the vessel typologies, we suggest that millet was a common culinary ingredient during the Early Medieval period in this region. The earliest evidence dates to the 6th c. AD and notably derives from deposits associated with high status occupation of the site, a surprising result given the common association of these crops as low-status or starvation foods in the historic periods. It is likely that millet was a common cereal staple in human diet during this period in North-eastern Italy and that its use was far less restricted than previously thought. More broadly, our study highlights the efficacy of combining organic residue analysis and stable isotope analysis of bone to relate culinary and dietary information of ancient populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poorly defined occupation surfaces restrict the ability to interpret the use of space in archaeological structures and settlements around the world. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can provide information about site preservation and characterise the use of archaeological space when stratigraphy is lacking but have rarely been applied in such contexts. This paper presents a comparative study of multiple geoarchaeological methods that were used to study ephemeral occupation surfaces in a 7th to 9th century AD turf longhouse in the upland settlement of Lair in Glen Shee, Perthshire, Scotland. When subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and k-means clustering, the combined data were successful in identifying activity areas and relating this to maintenance practices, the organisation of space, and post-depositional processes. Most significantly, the integrated multi-method approach demonstrated that ephemeral occupation surfaces retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if floors are not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Isle of Man occupies a central position in the Irish Sea, in close proximity to the coasts of Ireland, north Wales, northwest England and southwest Scotland. The island's location means it presents an ideal stopping point for seafarers navigating the Irish Sea ‘trade highway’, and consequently, during the early medieval period, the island was the focus of power struggles between British and Irish elites, and eventually became the target of attack and subsequent settlement of people from Scandinavia during the Viking Age. It is the Viking-Age evidence that has been central to the discussion of migration to the Isle of Man to date, whilst less consideration has been given to population mobility to the island prior to the 10th century. This paper seeks to address this by presenting strontium and oxygen isotope data for a sample ( n = 12) of two pre-10th century cemetery populations from the Isle of Man: Balladoole and Peel Castle. This study highlights evidence for mobility to the island prior to the advent of Viking-Age migrations, and consideration is given to the possible motivations for this early medieval mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Large data sets of radiocarbon dates are becoming a more common feature of archaeological research. The sheer numbers of radiocarbon dates produced, however, raise issues of representation and interpretation. This paper presents a methodology which both reduces the visible impact of dating fluctuations, but also takes into consideration the influence of the underlying radiocarbon calibration curve. By doing so, it may be possible to distinguish between periods of human activity in early medieval Ireland and the statistical tails produced by radiocarbon calibration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The character and chronology of Norse colonisation in Early Medieval northern Scotland (8th–10th centuries AD) is hotly debated. The presence of reindeer antler raw material in ‘native’ or ‘Pictish’ type combs from the Orkney Isles, northern Scotland has been put forward as evidence for a long and largely peaceful initial period of cultural contact, as opposed to a shorter, more polarised period probably in the late ninth century. Here this hypothesis is tested using a minimally-destructive collagen peptide mass fingerprinting method (ZooMS) to speciate the raw material of 20 combs. Eleven were identified as red deer, four as reindeer and one as whale. The accuracy and gentleness of this method was tested by the subsequent application of ancient DNA (aDNA) methods to fourteen of the same samples: in ten, amplification was successful and all supported the preliminary ZooMS identification. All ‘native’-type combs in the sample are identified as red deer, and all Norse types as reindeer. These results challenge previous species identifications for these combs' raw materials. The balance of evidence no longer supports the existence of a long period of cultural contact between Atlantic Scotland and Scandinavian settlers before the late 9th century. ZooMS is shown to have considerable potential for identification of worked bone and antler artefacts, with applications in archaeology and wildlife/art-history forensics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Imported Mediterranean pottery recovered from 5th–7th century settlement sites along the south Wales coast indicates that trade and contact between Wales and Byzantium continued following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the early-5th century. It is hypothesised that people as well as pottery continued to travel to Wales from Byzantium, some of whom subsequently settled amongst the local communities. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis was undertaken on human remains (n = 33 individuals) from four early medieval cemeteries from south Wales. The study identified individuals who may not have been local to the British Isles, thus demonstrating that the isotopic analysis of human remains from Wales can further our understanding of migration to Britain during the early medieval period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The research was focused on the testing of possible information value of charcoal analysis from infills of archaeological objects, when methodologically different approaches are used in the combination with the micromorphological and pollen-analytical approach. The case study site chosen for this type of study is the unique Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky, Czech Republic. The comparative study includes the infills of 20 pithouses from the extensive settlement comprising about 750 (323 excavated) such archaeological structures situated along the left bank of Vltava River close to what today is the city of Prague. A combination of three anthracological outcomes (the number of charcoal fragments, the anthracomass, and the qualitative frequency of charcoal species) proves to be a powerful tool in determining the vegetation pattern in the surrounding landscape. The study revealed a major effect of post-depositional processes and quantification methods on the final anthracological interpretation. A modification of the anthracological record in different layers was traced in order to assess the applicability of sedimentology and micromorphology in the interpreting of the primary use and ending of the objects found. The reliability of anthracological interpretations are then compared with the results of micromorphological analyses and with regional vegetation patterns interpreted from pollen analyses of an off-site pollen profile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separated by approximately 850years in time. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic values observed in human dentin and bone collagen from the sites of early medieval Castro dei Volsci and late medieval Rome are consistent with diets that differed substantially. As the North Atlantic opened to fishing and food preservations methods improved, Mediterranean peoples increased their fish consumption dramatically, and in doing so, met the religious directives of the Catholic Church. By analyzing both teeth and bone collagen within individuals, long-term feeding behaviors are documented, and the utility of last erupted teeth collagen as sources of adult dietary information is established. This study offers the first physical evidence of this new economic reality linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean economies at the end of the Middle Ages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]