This book represents the second publication by the authors focusing on the Gaelic graveyard and church at Ballyhanna, County Donegal in north-west Ireland. The first book, The science of a lost medieval Gaelic cemetery: the Ballyhanna Research project (TII Heritage), previously reviewed in Antiquity by Halcrow (Reference Halcrow, McKenzie, Murphy and Donnelly2016), focused on the research project as a whole, while the volume under review here concentrates on the results of the osteoarchaeological analysis undertaken for the project.
Excavations at Ballyhanna church and graveyard recovered the skeletal remains of 869 adults and 427 children, with all members (including young and old and both sexes) of society represented. The skeletal remains underwent a detailed osteological analysis and radiocarbon dating programme between 2006 and 2008, with a skeletal catalogue accessible via the affiliated university webpage (qub.ac.uk/sites/Ballyhanna). Radiocarbon results have shown the graveyard to have been used from the late seventh and eighth centuries, and continuing in use into the seventeenth century. This longevity is reflected in the relatively low completeness of the skeletal remains, likely resulting from the truncation of earlier burials by later internments.
Despite the low level of completeness, the skeletal remains were found in good preservation, assisting the authors in achieving their research aim: detailing the lives and deaths of the largest Gaelic medieval population to have been excavated through a biocultural approach. The book is divided into 17 chapters, highlighting three primary themes: the history and archaeology of the Ballyhanna graveyard, community health and disease, and biocultural perspectives. These chapters are enhanced by a variety of black-and-white figures and tables.
Chapters 1–3 provide a general overview of the book's structure, the archaeological excavation of the site, results from the radiocarbon programme (undertaken on 5.6 per cent of the population), and an historical overview of the early medieval period and burial practices. As the use of the graveyard covers almost the entirety of the medieval period, the authors attempt to divide the population between early medieval (pre-1200) and later medieval (post-1200), in order to determine whether temporal differences were reflected when observing health patterns. Unfortunately, the dearth of individuals dating to the early medieval period (only 16 in total) resulted in the assemblage rightly being treated as a single, late medieval population. Few large, late medieval assemblages have been recovered from archaeological excavations in Ireland (compared to early medieval assemblages), and none from the north-west. As a result, this book represents an important landmark for Irish osteology.
Chapters 6–15 focus on the palaeopathology identified on the skeletal remains, including: developmental conditions, dental disease, physiological stress, metabolic disease, circulatory disorders, non-specific infections, tuberculosis, injuries, joint disease and violence. These chapters begin with a general introduction to the pathology, including aetiologies and skeletal manifestation, making it a useful publication for undergraduate and graduate students. This is followed by a discussion on the prevalence of each pathology (complemented by tables and specific case studies), and concluding with a summary of the findings placed in their appropriate historical and archaeological context.
Two primary comparative assemblages are used throughout the book: those from Ardreigh, County Kildare (located in the east of Ireland), and Wharram Percy in Yorkshire, UK. The use of comparative assemblages from different regions is not ideal; as previously mentioned, however, there are currently no large skeletal assemblages from the north-west of Ireland dating to the late medieval period. Regardless, the comparison with other skeletal assemblages has shown differences between the individuals of Ballyhanna and those of Ardreigh and Wharram Percy, suggesting that differences in the cultural, political and physical landscapes affected population health. Due to the frequent use of these assemblages for comparison, a map showing their locations in association with Ballyhanna would have been useful.
In Chapter 16, McKenzie and Murphy focus on medicine, treatment and society, bringing together the more severe case studies discussed in the previous chapters by considering care in the community. By doing so, this chapter begins to view the osteological evidence presented thus far from a biocultural perspective. While the bioarchaeology care model is briefly mentioned, the application of the method to the data could have perhaps strengthened this chapter even further. The authors conclude with a chapter outlining the primary findings of the research, painting a picture of life and death at Ballyhanna. As the graveyard was used for all members of society, the study has provided valuable information on daily life in the community (demonstrated by the patterns of joint disease, dental disease and injuries), their hardships (as evident by physiological stress, violence and specific infections), and the care and support that they provided one another through difficult times (as evidenced in the case studies).
This publication provides much-needed, accessible osteoarchaeological data (including the skeletal catalogue) for late medieval Ireland, and will undoubtedly be used by students and osteoarchaeologists as a primary reference for health and disease in north-west Gaelic Ireland. Together, the two publications on Ballyhanna provide an accessible work, suitable for general audiences, that focuses on the historical and archaeological aspects of the Ballyhanna church and graveyard. The detailed focus on the osteological data in this, the second volume, makes it a publication vital for the continued research and understanding of Ireland's past.
