The Shrinking Island: Out-Migration and Settlement Organization, 19th – 20thcentury Inishark, Ireland.

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.

Although recognized as an important topic in historic archaeology, surprisingly little research has focused on understanding the linkages between out-migration, shifting trans-Atlantic economies, and resulting change in residential practices. Drawing upon archaeological excavation, archival research, historical documentation, and oral interviews with former islanders, in this paper I explore the interweaving of human action, out-migration, and the changing village of Inishark, a historic fishing village off Western Ireland. Occupied from the 1780’s, and with around 300 people living on Inishark in the 1840’s, by the 1901 only 100 people lived on the island and the last 25 people left in 1960. Integrating LiDAR research, use of Ordnance Survey maps from 1838 and 1898, and archaeological survey data, I explore how village settlement organization, household layout, and land use change with out-migration and changing fishing economies.

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): 798