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Reilly, Eileen
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Reilly, Eileen
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Reilly, Eileen
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Publication
The contribution of insect remains to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval Dublin
2003, Reilly, Eileen
This paper examines the important contribution that sub-fossil insect remains
can make to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval
Dublin. The study of insect remains is one aspect of the increasingly important
area of environmental archaeology and can contribute to a more holistic
understanding of archaeological contexts. Environmental archaeology seeks to
use other scientific disciplines to answer classic archaeological questions of the
'why, how and what' of prehistoric and historic human activity. Environmental
archaeology has a particularly significant role to play in the interpretations of
urban sites because the matrix of these sites is made up primarily of organic
remains – plants, wood, insects, animal bone, shell.
So what of insects in particular? What can they tell us about the prevailing
micro- and macro-level environmental conditions in Dublin during the Viking
and medieval periods? About the use of structures at a macro-level? About the
use of domestic space within structures? About the use of hinterland
resources? About the seasonality of that use? And about the hinterland itself
and the nature of the landscape around the town? The study of insects can
contribute to the answer to all of these questions, particularly as part of an
integrated environmental/archaeological strategy, and a number of case
studies will be presented in this paper to illustrate this. However, it is important
to start with a brief introduction to the subject as a whole and its
development and subsequent contribution to urban archaeological research.
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Publication
Coleoptera
2005, Reilly, Eileen
This chapter looks at samples taken for insect analysis at
various sites throughout Derryville Bog. The analysis of
insect remains, particularly Coleoptera (beetles) which
will be the main focus of this chapter, and their use in
environmental reconstruction is relatively new in Ireland
but has had a long and distinguished history in Britain
and parts of Europe.
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Publication
The insect fauna (Coleoptera) from the Neolithic trackways Corlea 9 and 10: the environmental implications
1996, Reilly, Eileen
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Publication
A study of the Bronze Age insect fauna
2008, Reilly, Eileen
This section examines the insect remains from eleven
samples retained during the excavation of site A. The
samples are all from ditch fills from a variety of trenches
that were dug during the 1993, 1994 and 1995
excavation seasons (§2.5.1). A total of fourteen samples
were processed and examined, but three produced no
insect remains and are therefore not discussed in detail.As
the samples are from different trenches, the insect
assemblage can be looked at in a number of different
ways: the site assemblage as a whole; the phase 2 inner
ditch, as most of the productive samples came from here;
and comparisons, if they can be made, between the phase
2 and phase 3 ditches.
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Wax and wane? Insect perspectives on human environment interactions
2011-08, Reilly, Eileen
Interactions between humans and environment over many millennia have been complex. These interactions take place against a backdrop of natural change, particularly driven by climate, but human have undoubtedly had a profound effect on the ecosystems in which they live and which they share with insects. With the passing of the UN International Year of Biodiversity (2010), it is perhaps appropriate to examine some of these interactions over the last few millennia, using examples from archaeological research.
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The insects, the body and the bog
2005-12, Reilly, Eileen
The discovery of a bog body at Tumbeagh Bog, Lemanaghan, Co. Offaly, afforded a
rare opportunity to examine well-preserved human remains and the environment in
which they were found. Samples for insect remains and pollen were taken from close
to the body. A column of insect samples from a peat section face near the body was
taken, after consultation with Dr Wil Casparie, in order to provide close correlation
between environmental proxies. Insects are useful environmental indicators. The
habitat-specific nature of many species of beetles (Coleoptera), in particular, can help
to determine the environmental conditions pertaining at the time of their deposition.
From the results outlined below, it is clear that their real value to this study lies in their
ability to provide a detailed picture of environmental change up to and including the
time of deposition of the body