Archaeological discoveries along the M9 motorway in south Kildare.

This book is the 16th volume in the TII Heritage Series

This latest title in the TII Heritage series presents the results of archaeological investigations along the Kildare section of the M9 Kilcullen to Carlow road scheme. 

This work led to the discovery of 97 previously unknown archaeological sites, revealing a complex palimpsest of human activity in this landscape that spans almost 9,000 years. New discoveries described in the book include evidence of hunter-gatherer stone tool making, prehistoric ritual activity, a number of very significant Bronze Age, Iron Age and early medieval cemeteries and evidence for settlement in all eras. Paleoenvironmental evidence from the excavations is used to examine changing subsistence strategies and people's interactions with the environment over time, and analysis of their skeletal remains sheds light on the lives they led.

The authors marshal the evidence from the excavated sites to examine how successive communities inhabited, modified and understood this landscape, while also offering insights into broader patterns of continuity and change in this region from prehistoric to recent times. This complex interplay between continuity and change, between environmental constraints and human agency, between practical needs and cultural meanings, has shaped the archaeological record of south Kildare over millennia and the evidence discovered has revealed a landscape with lineage.

Authors
Colm Moloney is a graduate of University College Cork and the University of Leicester. He is the founder of Rubicon Archaeology Ltd and directed excavations along the route of the M9.
Patricia Long is a graduate of University College Cork and is the Managing Director of Rubicon Archaeology Ltd. Patricia also directed excavations along the route of the M9.
Ros Ó Maoldúin is a graduate of the University of Bradford and received a PhD from the University of Galway. Ros is Head of Publications at Rubicon Archaeology Ltd but is currently on leave to undertake excavations on behalf of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention at Tuam.