Thomas
G. (Greg) Fewer: The archaeology of the Great Famine: time for a
beginning?
A version of this paper originally appeared in:
Group for the study of Irish Historic Settlement Newsletter 8, (1997), pp. 8 - 13.
Keywords: great famine, potato famine,
Ireland, famine, archaeology, history, workhouses, graves, burials,
graveyards, fever hospitals, soup kitchens, relief works, public works,
private works, abandoned settlements, mass graves, famine graves,
nineteenth century, archaeological excavation, artefacts, artifacts,
landlords, tenants, deserted villages, estates.
Abstract: It is argued that archaeological survey and excavation has the potential to provide new images of conditions during the Great Famine that would complement the often over-used contemporary illustrations from The Illustrated London News. Through a non-exhaustive survey of the historical literature, various types of site (including mass graves, workhouses, fever hospitals, soup kitchens, public or private relief schemes, and abandoned villages) are identified that could be examined archaeologically.If you wish to cite this paper, please reference the journal of origin in all work.
