Mapping Death

This project’s aims are as follows:

1. To interpret burial practices in Ireland during this period from an archaeological and historical perspective as indicators of social practices, social hierarchies, cultural intrusions, boundary markers, taking possession of territories, the establishment of dynasties, religious conversion and external relationships.

2. To produce guidelines for the identification and interpretation of excavation of burials in Ireland and also to produce a blueprint for inter-disciplinary research with the purpose of gaining a sophisticated and more comprehensive understanding of Irish society in the crucial period from the Iron Age to the early medieval period.

3. To produce a detailed database of burials and burial sites in Ireland from 1st to 8th century AD including archaeological, onomastic, statistical, mapping and historical data.

4. To disseminate the project’s outcomes through various media including a searchable accessible database, academic papers and publications, presentations to local archaeological and historical societies, inter-action with the consultancy sector and museums by offering, third, fourth and fifth-level courses and producing popular materials.