AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studentship – Food and Networks in Early Medieval Societies: Wales and the West

Applications are invited for an AHRC-funded PhD at Cardiff University. This is offered under the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme. The partner institutions are Cardiff University and AC-NMW. The studentship will be supervised by Professor Jacqui Mulville (School of History, Archaeology and Religion) and Dr Mark Redknap (AC-NMW) and co-supervised by Professor Niall Sharples (School of History, Archaeology and Religion).

The studentship begins on 1 January 2021 and is funded at standard AHRC rates for 45 months full time (or part-time equivalent) with the potential to be extended for a further 3 months for professional development opportunities.

Project Overview
This PhD research will examine how human/animal interactions impacted on personal experiences in Wales during the formative period of the creation of Welsh identity (AD 700-1100). Discussions of early medieval food systems have hitherto relied heavily on highly limited and inadequate narratives provided through the interpretation of scant historical records or limited datasets. The enclosed settlement and market centre excavated at Llanbedrgoch on Anglesey (1994-2012) produced the largest unstudied archaeological assemblage of faunal remains (over 50,000 fragments) within dated sequences from early medieval Wales, with the benefits of clear associations with contemporary material culture, buildings and human remains.

This research will 1. study this comprehensive evidence base for the definition of early farming practices in the north Wales Irish Sea region, from the raising of stock, selecting and sourcing foods, occupational practices including butchery, food preparation, consumption and disposal; 2. define the extent to which animal/human interactions in early medieval / Viking age Wales reflected practices in Ireland, Britain and on the Continent; 3. assess the influence of these human/animal interactions on development, identity, health and social structure within early Welsh kingdoms.

Key to this will be the comparison of the Llanbedrgoch bone assemblage with contemporary sites. These include the recently published evidence from the elite, atypical and short-lived crannog at Llangorse (c. AD 890-916) in the kingdom of Brycheiniog, where food procurement was apparently clearly linked to supplies chains through food rents with consumption reflecting cultural, economic and environmental drivers.

The community engagement programme will offer the student opportunities to explore issues shared across time and participation in archaeology will provided through the student's involvement with young people engaging with STEM activities based around food.

Research questions include:

- How did food consumption in the early medieval Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd differ in character from that of its neighbours?
- What were the mainstays of the 'historical' diet of the population in Wales and the West?
- To what extent did husbandry support the wider economy?
- How can animal:human interactions from ninth/tenth-century Wales and the evidence from contemporary Dublin, Man and northern England inform us of changing identities, class, and politics?

More information at https://museum.wales/research/AHRC-Doctoral-Awards-2020-22/ with full details here: https://museum.wales/research/AHRC-Doctoral-Awards-2020-22/Food-and-networks/

Closing date for applications: 06 November 2020
Anticipated start date: 1 January 2021

Funding
Subject to AHRC eligibility criteria, the scholarship covers tuition fees and a grant towards living expenses for 45 months full time or part-time equivalent, and may be extended for a further 3 months

The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home/EU UKRI rate for PhD degrees. The award pays full maintenance for UK citizens and residents only. For more information visit: https://www.ukri.org/skills/funding-for-research-training/.

Further Enquiries
For further enquiries of an academic nature, feel free to contact Professor Jacqui Mulville ([Email Address Removed]) or Dr Mark Redknap ([Email Address Removed]).


How To Apply
Applicants will need to satisfy AHRC eligibility requirements. For more information visit:
https://ahrc.ukri.org/funding/research/researchfundingguide/

For more information and how to apply see https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applying/how-to-apply and https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/archaeology.

Applications to be received by 5pm on Friday November 6th.

Interviews are scheduled to be held in the week commencing November 23rd. Owing to current public health measures to tackle coronavirus, interviews will be held online.