Seminars 2014/15 report: "Death in the Scottish wars of Independence"

During our first seminar of the year Dr. Jo Buckberry of Bradford University took us back to the Scottish Wars of Independence and more specifically a building in Stirling Castle. Excavations that were carried out in 1997, of what was first believed to be the “Old Governor’s Kitchen” unearthed evidence of 9 sets of skeletal remains. The vast majority of the remains date to the Wars of Independence and show evidence of trauma. Originally there were thought to be 10 sets of remains but later analysis identified that what was believed to be two separate skeletons was one infant aged between 3-6 months. Among the 8 remaining, sex determination was predominately male and 1 female, with 2 left undermined. Analysis of the remains showed skeletal variation, evidence of both dental and skeletal diseases and signs of healed and unhealed trauma.

Dr.Buckberry began the seminar by providing a brief background into osteological study and terminology. She explained that blunt force trauma occurs when the victim is hit by an object with a large surface area for example a pavement or a club while sharp force trauma occurs when the injury is inflicted by a bladed object. If a wound is determined to have occurred ante-mortem then it was before the time of death and evidence of healing would typically be present. It can be difficult to differentiate between peri-mortem and post-mortem. Peri-mortem injuries have no evidence of healing but still retain an elastic response however post-mortem injuries show no elastic response.Bone mechanics that tell us if there is evidence of an elastic response.

The seminar continued with specific discussion concerning each set of remains. 

• Skeleton SK199 was composed of a pair of feet therefore the sex was undetermined. It was estimated by the level of epiphyseal fusion that the remains were aged at least over the age of 13yrs. 
• SK176 represents the remains of an infant aged between 3-6 months. Analysis provided evidence of  active rickets, identified by flared bone ends and ribs. There is evidence of possible scurvy alongside the skull. Interpretations highlight the infant was malnourished or that the mother was malnourished. 
• SK196 is of undetermined sex with an estimated age between 16-18 years. Trauma was identified on the remains as 4 peri-mortem fractures. 
• SK523 was identified as a male aged between 16-28 years with evidence of probable peri-mortem fractures to the lower limbs and ribs. 
• SK190 was identified as a male aged between 16-20 years. Dental notches were present in the victim’s mouth highlighting that the victim used his mouth as a way to hold objects. Further evidence of trauma included 4-6 post cranial injuries, blunt force trauma to the right scapula and right humerus. one stab injury to the 8th rib. This latter injury was located close to the heart and the blade had been inserted horizontally. Seven or eight other fractures are present along the base of the cranium, as well as 1-3 mandibular fractures. 
• SK148 is identified as an older male aged between 24-57 years. There is a healed sharp force injury to the frontal bone. Cysts are present above the upper incisors, these occur as a plug of soft tissue that forms when the tooth dies. Is this evidence of violence?
• SK539 is the only female identified at Stirling aged between 29-60 years. The skeletal remains were robust and she had a cleft neural arch of C1 of the vertebrae. Evidence of cranial trauma is present in the form of 2 penetrating lesions with internal bevelling. 10 linear and curvilinear lesions were also identified. 
• SK150 is male aged between 24-46 years. There is potentially a hundred peri- mortem fractures, 40/44 of these occurred to the cranium and less than 60 to the post cranial skeleton including rib fractures and a crushed knee. Was this the result of being crushed, tortured or a fall? Developmental conditions are evident, this man suffered from scoliosis and sacralisation. A C14 date has been obtained and the remains date between 1217 –1292 AD.
• SK141 is male aged between 29-57 years. A radio carbon date places these remains much later than the rest, between 1442-1627 AD. 

Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was carried out to examine the diet of those at Stirling Castle. Results identified their diet as typical of a medieval population’s diet. The pattern of trauma amongst the remains however is not typical of the period. Evidence discovered at Towton and Fishergate Castles highlights sharp force trauma as common but at Stirling evidence of blunt force trauma is clear. Debates have discussed whether or not the remains were left here after one serious traumatic event. Was this event a siege? This hypothesis is supported by the unusual burial site location and evidence of scurvy in a number of the individuals.

By Emily Geoghegan 

Hoodies!

Hoodies!

Hey everyone, thanks to committee member Brandon Walsh the society hoody is back with eight available colours! They will cost just €20, come to coffee mornings to find out more and order one in your size :) 

Size measurements:

Chest (to fit) S - 34/36”, M - 38/40”, L - 42/44”, XL - 46/48”, 2XL - 50/52

BYOB Bowling Night!

Source

Dear everyone,

On Tuesday 7th October (Next week) the Society will be heading to Stillorgan for a relaxed evening of bowling and snooker/pool in Leisureplex, with dinner in Eddie Rocket's beforehand!. 

Here is the plan for the evening:

We will be meeting outside the Newman building at 6:30pm to then catch a bus to Stillorgan and we are planning on being at Eddie Rocket's for 7pm. You can join us there if you want.

**If you are coming for dinner, please let us know so we can arrange to have enough space for everyone. You can do this by either answering the poll on the Facebook event page, or by emailing us ** 

Afterwards, we will be heading to the Leisureplex for 9pm, the time at which they allow alcohol to be brought in: you can buy alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages in Tesco or Tesco Off-License until late. 

For any questions, please feel free to contact us. 

See you there!

Coffee mornings made easy

Dear everyone,

We have changed the website a little so that it will be easier for you to know exactly when the next coffee morning is! Now you just need to come here, and look to the left...

<==========================

 and lo! The times and location of the next coffee morning are there! Quick and easy!

See you all next Wednesday!

Seminars 2014/2015: "The Bective Abbey Project: Survey, Excavation and Results"

The next seminar will be

"The Bective Abbey Project: Survey, Excavation and Results"
by
Geraldine Stout of the National Monuments Service
on
Thursday 2nd October 2015
5.30pm

Room A109, Newman Building

***************************************

CLICK HERE for all seminar posters and reports. 

Glendalough Field School 2014: Post Excavation

The final week of the Glendalough Field School 2014 saw the beginning of the post-excavation process. This edition will include the entire post-excavation week with all the practices which had been carried out.

The first day of post-excavation began with the writing up of the registers for all trenches. Finds, camera, drawing and sample registers were all typed up using Microsoft Excel. This left us with a clean digital format of our current registers which can be stored with little chance of being damaged. The digital registers would also allow for a proper checking of artefacts later in the post-excavation process.

With the help of the students the finds were carefully cleaned to reveal a better surface for storage and allow for further interpretation at a later date. From white ceramics to clay pipes all were delicately washed using a toothbrush and a basin of water. Once washed the bags of each set of finds were checked for accuracy. They were also sorted into material type and all finds per trench were eventually placed into their own bag. At the end of this process we had three large bags full of smaller categorized bags from each trench. 

This was far from the end of the post-excavation process however, with the weather conditions being as poor as they were during the second week it left the trench boxes wet and muddy. All of the trench boxes were cleaned through and dried when necessary. It was also double checked that the trench boxes contained all the necessary equipment for next years excavations. This process of cleaning and checking was also undertaken for each of the drawing boxes. 

Among the larger tasks in post-excavation there were many smaller tasks which needed doing. Cleaning of hard hats as well as scanning of drawings were all carried out throughout the week. While some students had come back on the Wednesday in order to help backfill trench 12 there were still students working in UCD in order to get everything finished to make the rest of the post-excavation process without the students as easy as possible. 

Being able to partake in the post-excavation process one becomes quite aware of all the background work which surrounds an excavation such as that at Glendalough. The immense quantity of work which came both before and after the excavation was quite overwhelming which allows us to now truly appreciate the people behind the excavations from start to finish.

Seminar list announced for the first semester of 2014/2015 !

UCD School of Archaeology & Archaeological Society Research Seminar Series 2014/15

Thursdays at 5:30 pm, 

Room A109, 

Newman Building, UCD

All welcome

For further information contact: archaeology.soc@gmail.com stephen.davis@ucd.ie

• Thursday 25^th September 2014

Dr Jo Buckberry, University of Bradford

“Death during the Scottish war of independence”

• Thursday 2^nd October 2014

Geraldine Stout, National Monuments Service

"The Bective Abbey Project: Survey, Excavation and Results"

• Thursday 16^th October 2014

Richard O’Brien, Rathnadrinna Research Project

"In the plains of Mag Femen: excavations at the royal fort of Rathnadrinna”

• Thursday 30^th October 2014

Dr Tomás O Carragain, University College Cork

“Insular Monasticism and Royal Patronage in the Glen of Aherlow: Survey and Excavations at Toureen Peakaun"

Mid-Term Break

• Thursday 13^th November 2014

Dr Alison Sheridan, National Museum of Scotland

“Green treasures from the magic mountains: Neolithic Alpine axeheads in Ireland and Britain, and the amazing story of how they got here”

• Thursday 20^th November 2014

                ***ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY INAUGURAL LECTURE***

Prof. Chris Scarre, University of Durham

“Missing Persons? Formal Disposal and Funerary Practices in Prehistoric Britain”

• Thursday 27^th November 2014

Prof. John Schofield, University of York

“Forget about ‘Heritage’: Place, Ethics and the Faro Convention”