Hillforts in prehistoric Ireland: a costly display of power?

O'Driscoll, James

doi:10.1080/00438243.2017.1282379

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Such aspects of a hillfort's siting are difficult to assess on the ground, especially where recent woodland regeneration and limited public access constrain fieldwork. We can, however, use 3D visualization and visibility methods to investigate relevant topographic positioning, theoretical zones of visibility, and visual prominence (Lock et al, 2014;O'Driscoll, 2017). Spatial analysis of hillfort locations can also illuminate adjacency and oversight of routeways and strategic nodes such as river crossings through the modelling of patterns of movement by LCPs.…”

Section: Gis and Landscape Analysis: Methods And Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As is well established, some hillforts were sited tactically in relation to topography, and monumentality and visual prominence could be exploited to exert control over a landscape and/or define hillforts as ‘special’ places (Bowden & McOmish, 1989; Hamilton & Manley, 2001: 31; Harding, 2012: 15; O'Driscoll, 2017; Driver, 2018). Conspicuous sites could reinforce ideological statements, as projected for example by hillfort ‘defences’ (Seaman, 2013: 10–12, 2016: 41), and act as permanent visual reminders of elite power (Jones et al, 2004: 117–18).…”

Section: Gis and Landscape Analysis: Methods And Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

Seaman

Thomas

2020

Eur. j. archaeol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The (re)occupation of hillforts was a distinctive feature of post-Roman Europe in the fifth to seventh centuries ad. In western and northern Britain, hillforts are interpreted as power centres associated with militarized elites, but research has paid less attention to their landscape context, hence we know little about the factors that influenced their siting and how this facilitated elite power. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide opportunities for landscape research, but are constrained by limitations of source data and the difficulty of defining appropriate parameters for analysis. This article presents a new methodology that combines data processing and analytical functions in GIS with techniques and principles drawn from ‘traditional’ landscape archaeology. A case study, focused on Dinas Powys, suggests that the strategic siting of this hillfort facilitated control over the landscape and has wider implications for our understanding of patterns of power in post-Roman Britain.

show abstract

Section: Gis and Landscape Analysis: Methods And Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gis and Landscape Analysis: Methods And Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

Seaman

Thomas

2020

Eur. j. archaeol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The hillfort of Dún Aonghasa has been interpreted as a potential higher-status site, possibly at the top of a hierarchy of settlement (Waddell, 2010: 231). It is strategically positioned to dominate seagoing traffic and serve as an economic hub for maritime exchange along the west coast (Waddell, 2010: 231; O'Driscoll, 2017), as a symbolic reference point for travellers (Driver, 2013: 59), and as a signal of the power and strength of the Dún Aonghasa elites and associated community (O'Driscoll, 2017). Livingood (2012) argues that the size of traditional chiefly polities is limited by the need to oversee, or come to the aid of, all communities within their sphere of influence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Members of the Inishark community, situated far enough away from Dún Aonghasa to avoid daily interaction, would have had significant autonomy, allowing them to tap into maritime exchange networks normally associated by archaeologists with elites. It is possible that these small islands, like hillforts, may have been important visible and symbolic reference points for travellers, and acted as places for rest and embarkation for maritime traders (see Driver, 2013: 59; O'Driscoll, 2017). Despite the importance of hillforts in the organization of Bronze Age settlement systems, the communities on the small islands off the coast of Connemara and Clew Bay were probably shaped by inter-island and island-mainland coastal interactions on a local scale and able to access international trade routes themselves rather than through any authority imposed by the elite at regional centres.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Along the Margins? The Later Bronze Age Seascapes of Western Ireland

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents the results of multi-scalar investigations into the Later Bronze Age (LBA; 1500–600 bc) landscape of Inishark in County Galway, Ireland. The European LBA along the Atlantic coast was characterized by the development of long-distance maritime exchange systems that transformed environmentally marginal seascapes into a corridor of human interaction and movement of goods and people. Archaeological survey, test excavation, and radiocarbon analysis documented the LBA occupation on Inishark. The communities living on Inishark and other small islands on the western Irish coast were on the periphery of both the European continent and of the elite spheres of influence at hillforts in Ireland; yet they were connected to the Atlantic maritime exchange routes. A focus on small coastal islands contributes to a better understanding of LBA socioeconomic systems and the development of social complexity in Bronze Age societies.

show abstract

“…Some examples of behaviours that have been explained using costly signalling include religion (e.g., Bulbulia 2004; Bulbulia & Sosis 2011; Sosis 2003), body modification (e.g., Wohlrab et al . 2009), art (e.g., Hodgson 2017; Watts 2002) and the construction of monuments (e.g., Glatz & Plourde 2011; Neiman 1997; O'Driscoll 2017; Wright 2017).…”

Section: Costly Signallingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costly signalling and the distribution of monumental mounds in Savai‘i and ‘Upolu, Sāmoa

Glover

Ladefoged

Cochrane

2020

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Monumental architecture has long been a focus of archaeological research. The construction of large and elaborate structures is a costly endeavour, which may seem to have little immediate benefit. Costly signalling is one explanation which can be applied to this problem by determining the contexts in which monument construction would carry a selective advantage. This study investigates stone and earthen mounds and platforms from Savai'i and 'Upolu in Sāmoa. These are among the most common type of archaeological feature in the landscape, yet targeted research explaining why these costly mounds were built is lacking. One of the primary expectations of costly signalling is that monuments will be located near areas where contested resources are abundant. To test this expectation, a semi-automated feature identification method was used to identify mounds in LiDAR data, and a model of agricultural productivity was produced to map locations where the cultivation of dryland taro should have been successful. Mounds were found to be preferentially located near areas with high agricultural potential, suggesting that costly signalling could be an explanation for mound construction in Sāmoa, where mounds served to demonstrate resource holding potential and competitive ability.

show abstract

Hillforts in prehistoric Ireland: a costly display of power?

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

Hillforts and Power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS Analysis of Dinas Powys

Along the Margins? The Later Bronze Age Seascapes of Western Ireland

Costly signalling and the distribution of monumental mounds in Savai‘i and ‘Upolu, Sāmoa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About