Pictorial Examples Of Supposed Native Architecture In lreland: An Alternative View

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Historical Archaeology on the Island of Ireland: New Perspectives" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in Ireland saw much conflict as the English crown sought to establish its rule throughout the island. The period saw government servants alongside entrepreneurs and adventurers take a greater interest in Ireland. As one consequence, more maps and pictorial images were created by these varied incomers, which have been used by modern researchers as tools to examine the contemporary architecture and landscape of Ireland. Using these images allied with colonial texts researchers have identified many examples of ‘rude’ native architecture in the form of small beehive shaped dwellings covered in sods or rough thatch. These structures have been noted in contemporary images of both urban and rural Ireland establishing their ubiquity and lending credence to the identification. This paper will present an alternative to that interpretation, instead suggesting that many of these native beehive dwellings were in fact crown army tents and associated structures.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Historical Archaeology on the Island of Ireland: New Perspectives

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 755