CASTLE LANDSCAPES: RECONNECTING SITES AT RISK
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-02-03

Medieval castles and their landscapes are often studied in isolation, which contributes to separation - or unequal emphasis - when dealing with contemporary challenges, such as climate change. This paper introduces a number of medieval castles in Ireland which are under threat from encroaching shorelines. Previous scholarship on climate change and castles has focused on material-specific studies, such as the effect of increased rainfall on stone weathering. However, their associated cultural landscapes, which can be defined as areas of cultural significance which are the product of both nature and human activity, have been omitted from the discussions. This paper argues that both these elements of heritage must be explored together, as they contribute to local and national cultural identity formation, and this is all the more pressing in relation to sites at-risk. If these sites are lost to climate change, what impact does that have on identities? This paper posits approaches to reconnecting castles and their cultural landscapes through the use of deep mapping. It will be argued that this approach is not only a useful interdisciplinary and holistic research tool but a method of allowing public ‘access’ digitally to sites no longer accessible physically.


Author(s): Kerr, Sarah (Trinity College Dublin)