Bridget Brennan

Current Research Masters Student

"An Analysis of the medieval cemetery at Kilteasheen, County Roscommon AD600 to AD1400"

The chief objective of the project is to produce an in-depth analysis of the medieval cemetery at Kilteasheen by fully exploring the changing spatial, chronological, religious and cultural patterns evident in 800 years of funeral activity. The deviant burials at Kilteasheen are of particular importance concerning divergent mortuary treatment due to allopathic fears. In the broader European context they are some of the earliest medieval examples of this recently identified phenomena.

The project will ultimately contribute to the completion of the Kilteasheen Archaeological Project, in order for it to progress to full publication. The research will produce several academic papers suitable for inclusion in peer reviewed academic journals. It is also hoped that the final analysis of the burial population at Kilteasheen will become the focus of wide-ranging and potentially ground-breaking DNA research.