Living at the Margins: Archaeological and Ethnographic Research on Post-Eighteenth-Century Irish and Scottish Rural Life

Margins, both socially and ideologically, are materially defined by local economic practices and national policies. This session focuses on post 18thcentury material life on the margins of Ireland and Scotland, defined in differing ways by researchers, governments, and those living along coastal and upland areas. Archaeologists in this session explore the conception of margins and marginality from a multi­faceted framework to interrogate the underlying assumptions about material culture, landscape, place, and economy in "marginal" locations and communities. The study of such porous spaces has revelatory potential to help us understand altered social dynamics. Through case studies, presenters considering the nature of life along the edge, how it is ascribed from different perspectives, and the linkages between the core and periphery.