Tillison, K (2018) Life and Death of Wooden Vessels: An Investigation of Early Medieval Woodcraft in Ireland. 12th Annual Early Medieval Student Symposium, University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art, 19-21 April.

Life and Death of Wooden Vessels: An Investigation of Early Medieval Woodcraft in Ireland Kevin Tillison, PhD Candidate Early medieval Ireland (A.D. 400-1100) was an intensely organic world, with pottery less visible in the archaeological record than during other periods, making wood the main material used for vessel manufacture. The significance of wooden vessels is exemplified in the Early Irish Laws, which suggested woodworking and woodworkers had distinct categories with variations of social status based on specialisation; from the lowly bowl turner to the high status yew-worker. Modern archaeological investigations have provided a large corpus of effectively recorded and classified material to examine. However, when evidence for woodworking has been recovered, it has lacked further analysis and interpretation. Rather, wooden artefacts are often limited to finds lists, hidden in grey literature or larger appendices. Therefore, this has left archaeological data and discussion on wooden material spread across many sources. This project collates the data and discussion on evidence for woodworking and wooden artefacts using both existing and new assemblages. Part of this project explores how people made, used, and deposited wooden objects, in particular, exploring how the processes of repairing and recycling communicate a unique treatment of objects less frequently discussed. This project, also investigates woodworkers’ impact on the rural economy and explores the possibility of an Irish woodcraft ‘tradition’. In addition, this project investigates the concept of craft through the use of contemporary early medieval contexts, historical literature, and modern sources (experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology) and its relation to wood and woodcraft, and their role within societies and cultures. NFC Photographic Collection B057.01.00018 This project aims to increase our understanding of wood exploitation and woodcraft in early medieval Ireland, particularly relating to wooden vessels. Objectives include: • A collation of archaeological data on wooden objects, woodworking evidence, and related material • Identifying archaeological contexts of wooden objects, including a determination of the processes wooden objects went through before their depositions, In addition, examining the social context of these objects and the people who made, used, and deposited them. • Investigating the use of historical, folklore/folklife and ethnographic studies for gaining new understandings about early medieval woodcraft, such as exploring the woodworker as a craftsperson and woodworking as a craft. Photo: John Sunderland Photo: Caitríona Moore This on-going research has to-date collated the archaeological data and discussion on approximately 1000 small wooden finds, and other products related to woodworking, from their diverse sources into one structured form to examine the wooden material. At this stage of the research a focus was placed on rural secular sites in Ireland resulting in 37 rural sites being identified with woodworking evidence and/or worked wood. Kevin Tillison, PhD Candidate UCD School of Archaeology Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar E-mail: kevin.tillison@ucdconnect.ie https://www.ucd.ie/archaeology/research/phd/tillison_ kevin/ Photo: John Sunderland Primary Supervisor: Dr Rob Sands Secondary Supervisor: Professor Aidan O’Sullivan DSP Chair: Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh