Rena Maguire - Böcker

Irish Late Iron Age Equestrian Equipment in its Insular and Continental Context is the first practical archaeological study of Irish Iron Age lorinery. The volume examines the bits and bosals (Y-pieces) holistically, using practical stable-yard knowledge merged with archaeological techniques such as morphometrics, use-wear, GIS, functional comparison to European and British equipment and distribution analysis to place it within its time and place. Irish Iron Age artefacts have always been beset by issues of chronology, but by using these various analytical methods, a more precise timeframe for the objects is indicated. A complex relationship with Roman Britain and the Empire also becomes visible, with aspects of identity and belief being expressed through the sophisticated equestrian equipment. The analysis of the bridle components reveal that the Ireland of the first centuries AD shares some characteristics with other boundary zones of the Roman Empire, such as Scotland and northern Germany, but also has its own unique interpretation of introduced technology. The Ireland of the Late Iron Age, then, is a society in flux, picking and choosing which traditions it maintains. The horse and associated equipment were very much at the heart of the social changes set in motion by contact with the Roman Empire, and as such, the examination of the snaffles and bosals allows us to bring the people of the Late Iron Age in Ireland into focus.

The purpose of archaeology is to reconstruct and present the past as it was lived, warts and all. Too often that ideal has been restricted to the affairs and structures of the great and (often not so) good, ignoring what happened after the battles were won or lost. Everyday life carried on for the vast majority of people who cooked, built walls and fences, herded and tended animals, and made pottery, metal tools and foodstuffs. Each of these domestic tasks required tools and equipment, and each object tells a story of the user's identity, both regional and personal.This volume presents a selection of worldwide studies of domestic objects and lives, from Scottish ceramics to Mayan urban zones. Each of these chapters demonstrate the commonalities humans share when there is 'no place like home', enhancing archaeological knowledge of the realities of life in the past.