Medieval Irish herding sites reveal how to date ancient pastoral economies
Archaeologists have successfully dated livestock herding sites in southwestern Ireland to the 16th–19th centuries, opening new methods for understanding historical land use across northwestern Europe. The findings matter for policymakers and land managers assessing how past grazing practices shaped modern landscapes and informing decisions about upland conservation and agricultural heritage.
Originaltitel: Dating and Interpreting Landscapes of Livestock Herding: Excavation of a Hut Site and Enclosure in Southwestern Ireland
<p>Grazing livestock in uplands was a widespread practice in late Medieval and early modern Europe, but there can be uncertainty about the date and function of archaeological sites associated with herding. This paper reviews fieldwork on such sites in northern and northwestern Europe and reports on the excavation of a hut and enclosure in the mountains of southwestern Ireland. The hut was found to have been built in the 16th or 17th centuries a.d. and was probably used to oversee dairy animals (likely cows). The enclosure was dated to the early 18th or early–mid-19th century a.d. and is more likely associated with goat milking. The excavations demonstrate that construction dates can be obtained for pastoral sites in uplands of northwestern Europe. Furthermore, with careful reading of features in the surrounding landscape and consideration of documentary and ethnographic evidence, fieldwork can help determine the nature of pastoral economies over time.</p>