The team has been very active in sharing our approaches and findings with archaeology professionals, the public and policy makers. We have presented posters and papers at several conferences, including major international conferences, as well as participating in public activities.
At the (opens in a new window)UCD Festival in June 2023, which is a university open day, Dr Kerri Cleary and Dr Liam Ryan introduced visitors to the project concept and methods. Dr Penny Johnston helped visitors examine ancient grains under the microscope and learn about species identifications, as well as learn about food preparation through grinding grain on a Bronze Age saddle quern. Dr Erin Crowley-Champoux enabled visitors to handle ancient animal bones and learn how careful examination of bones helps us determine information such as species identification and pathologies.
Assoc. Prof. Meriel McClatchie presented a paper at a (opens in a new window)Heritage Week conference organised by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in August 2023. The paper focused on archaeology and sustainability, and it featured aspects of the FOODSEC project.
The EAA conference (European Association of Archaeologists) is one of the largest archaeology conferences in Europe, with around 3000 participants. At the (opens in a new window)annual conference in Belfast in August 2023, the FOODSEC team presented two papers. Dr Kerri Cleary presented a paper on “Foodways in Bronze Age Ireland: self-sufficient households or communal cooperation?”, and Dr Penny Johnston presented a paper on “Food storage and security in Bronze Age Ireland”.
At the (opens in a new window)Bronze Age Forum in Leicester in November 2023, Dr Erin Crowley-Champoux presented a paper “FOODSEC: new approaches to food security in Bronze Age Ireland”.
The team presented two papers at the UCD School of Archaeology Research Day in December 2023. Dr Kerri Cleary presented a paper on “The FOODSEC project – testing underground grain storage in Bronze Age Ireland”, and Dr Penny Johnston presented a paper on “Ireland's folklife collections as a resource for archaeologists? A case study from the FOODSEC project”.
The project is funded by the Irish Research Council COALESCE Scheme (2022–2024; Strand 1L INSTAR+; Project ID: COALESCE/2022/1623)
