In broad terms, my research is concerned with the nature of the pre-Christian religion of Ireland and with the way this is expressed in myth and on the landscape. Basic to my approach is the assumption that the religion bore a close relationship to, and was reflective of, the way of life of the ancient Irish, which was dominantly transhumant pastoralism. Thus one would expect both the mythology and traces of the religion on the landscape to be concerned with the annual agricultural cycle. In conventional terms, this means my research tends to fall within the areas known as cognitive and landscape archaeology and archaeoastronomy, although it also involves interpretation of myth more broadly.
After Greece and Roman, Ireland has the largest surviving body of early literature of any culture in Europe. And much of that early literature consists of myth--tales of the deities and their activities. Places are also very important in these tales, so important that there is a large compilation made up entirely of tales explaining how places got their names. This compilation, the dindshenchas, provides the body of data that is the starting point for my research, which involves analyzing Irish myth in an attempt to gain an understanding of its underlying meaning, determining the geographic locations of the hundreds of places mentioned, determining the nature of any prehistoric remains surviving at those places (through fieldwork), and looking at the relationships among the places in the context of the myth. Often site orientations or intersite relationships reflect calendrical or other astronomically related concerns, such as the seasonal festivals and significant movements of the sun and moon. Thus the landscape was seen as sacred and intimately related to the belief system.
In Preparation
a) Cosmography in Tochmarc Étaíne [Discusses the apparently allegorical nature of this tale, which appears to be concerned with the various lunar cycles]
b) Using Archaeological Reconnaissance Data to Identify Oenach Sites. [Describes the correlation of clusters of henge-like enclosures with locations of assembly sites mentioned in the myths]
c) The Lughnasa Triangle [Discusses the locations of sites associated with the Lughnasa festival and their geographic relationships, which appear to have symbolic/calendrical significance]
d) On the Location of Oenach Airbe Rofir [Describes the evidence for the location of a site that plays an important role in tales involving the mythical hero Cú Chulainn]
e) Henges and Similar Monuments in Ireland [Provides a comprehensive listing of known henge enclosures in Ireland and discusses their nature and probable roles in ancient Irish society as well as in Irish myth]
f) The Nature of Sites Named Temair [Discusses the nature, distribution, and role of several sites in Irish myth named Temair]
g) The Roles of Druids in Irish Myth [Discusses the light that is shed on the nature of the druids via their roles in Irish myth]
h) Ritual Aspects of the Landscape in "The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne" [Traces the route of the pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne in the Fenian cycle of tales and offers an explanation of its significance.]In Press
Place and Time in the Tána. In Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on the Ulster Cycle, edited by Ruairí Ó hUiginn. Maynooth:
Published
2007
a) Destination: Castle Roche. Archaeology 60(3): .
b) Archaeological Method and Theory and the M3. www.mythicalireland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=721#721
c) Dún Ailinne's Role in Folklore, Myth, and the Sacred Landscape. In Dún Ailinne: Excavations at an Irish Royal Site 1968-1975, edited by Bernard Wailes & Susan Johnston, pp. 183-194. Philadelphia: University Museum.2006
Current Studies in Archaeoastronomy (Fountain & Sinclair, eds.) (review). American Anthropologist 108:586-587.
2005
Astronomy and the Sacred Landscape in Irish Myth. In Proceedings of the 4th INSAP Conference, edited by Nicholas Campion, pp. 121-134. Bristol: Canopus Press.
2004
a) Irish Mythology. In Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology: an Encyclopedia, edited by C. Scott Littleton. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
b) Druids. In Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology: an Encyclopedia, edited by C. Scott Littleton. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.2003
a) Virtual Earthworks (review). Archaeology 56 (5):61.
b) Festivals, Deaths, and the Sacred Landscape of Ancient Ireland. Journal of Indo-European Studies 31 (3&4):1-29.2002
a) Ways of Inhabiting the World: Landscape Archaeology (review essay). American Anthropologist 104:315-320
b) Dying for the Gods (Green) (review). Archaeology 55 (4):62.2000
a) Stonehenge Revealed: Mysteries of the Stones and Landscape (Souden) (review). Isis (Journal of the History of Science Society) 91:581-582.
b) Astronomy in Prehistoric Ireland and Britain (Ruggles) (review). Archaeoastronomy (Journal of the International Society for Astronomy in Culture) 14(2):132-141.Revised May 2007