num_pages: 320
description: Ireland's oldest traditions excavated via archaeological genetic and linguistic research culminating in atruly groundbreaking publication Following his account of Irish origins drawing on archaeology genetics and linguistics J. P. Mallory returns to the subject to investigate what he calls the Irish the native Irish retelling of their own origins as related by medieval manuscripts. He explores the historical backbone of this version of the earliest history of Ireland which places apparently mythological events on a concrete timeline of invasions colonization and royal reigns that extends even further back in time than the history of classical Greece. The juxtaposition of traditional Dreamtime tales and scientific facts expands on what we already know about the way of life in Iron Age Ireland.By comparing the world depicted in the earliest Irish literary tradition with the archaeological evidence available on the ground Mallory explores Irelands rich mythological tradition and tests its claims to represent reality. 12 color photographs
language: English
title: In Search of the Irish Dreamtime: Archaeology and Early Irish Literature
publisher: Thames & Hudson