Ioan McCarthy

Research student

School of History, Archaeology and Religion

: McCarthyIC@cardiff.ac.uk

Ioan is a Doctoral Research Student, currently researching the identification of Early Medieval assembly sites on the Anglo-Welsh Frontier. An interdisciplinary scholar, while regarding Archaeology as a "home school", Ioan specialises in synthesising evidence from multiple academic disciplines to tackle difficult topics such as archaeologically ephemeral sites or investigating ideological concepts. His focus is Early Medieval North-western Europe, with particular attention to the Early Anglo-Saxons, Post-Roman Western Britain, as well as Viking Age Scandinavia. He is also an experienced practical archaeologist, having spent time in the commerical sector, but especially enjoys working on Finds Analysis, Numismatics and Epigraphy.

Ioan's main focus is Early Medieval North-Western Europe, with particular attention paid to the Early Anglo-Saxons, Post-Roman Western Britain, as well as Viking Age Scandinavia.

Within this wider focus, specific research interests include:

Interdisciplinary Studies
Legal Assembly Sites
Archaeology of Religion
Sociality and Gift-exchange
Runology and Epigraphy
Archaeometallurgy

Thesis

Meeting in the Marches: Landscapes of Assembly and Governance in the Early Medieval Frontier

This doctoral thesis is a discrete part of the wider "Making the March" project, which seeks to offer the first interdisciplinary, multi-scalar analysis of the creation and development of the Early Medieval Anglo-Welsh frontier. Specifically, this PhD research will focus on the identification and characterisation of Early Medieval assembly and their landscape contexts. Open air assemblies were crucial to the articulation of power structures in Early Medieval Europe and must have been present in the Welsh Marches. Recent research elsewhere in the British Isles and Scandinavia has provided new frameworks for the identification of these sites, though despite a few notable exceptions, the March and the larger scope of Wales itself has been absent any focused research on this topic. Moreover we have no understanding of the relationship between these assembly sites and the frontier landscape.

Assembly sites are often enigmatic and archaeologically ephemeral, necessitating a strong interdisciplinary approach, that is grounded in archaeological evidence. Linguistics (particularly in relation to place-names), anthropology and many other relevant disciplines can help to build a holistic picture of these places and their functions, aiding in their identification and analysis. Combined with topographical and spatial analysis, along with any relevant historical literature or evidence, this study hopes to build on existing approaches to apply a systematic method for the identification of Early Medieval assembly sites, driving forward our collective knowledge of these places and the Early Medieval frontier.

Funding sources

This study is enabled by a fully-funded Doctoral Studentship generously provided by the Leverhulme Trust.

2015-2019 - BA Joint Honours Archaeology and History at Cardiff University

2019-2020 - Museum Assistant and Learning Facilitator at the National Roman Legion Museum

2020-2021 - MSc Archaeology at University of Oxford

2021-2023 - Commercial Archaeology - Post-Excavation & Analysis Team

Doctoral study at Cardiff University commenced January 2024

Honours and awards

Academic Merit Bursary - 2020 - Awarded by the University of Oxford's School of Archaeology in advance of Postgraduate Study based on research choices, practical experience and academic record.

R. & H. Atkinson Prize - 2019 - Awarded by Cardiff University for Best Archaeological Dissertation, for work entitled "Sacred Sites of the Anglo-Saxons: Reconsideration and Comparative Study".