Profile of Professor Nancy Edwards BA (Liv) PhD (Dunelm) FSA

Name:

Professor Nancy Edwards

Position:

Professor of Medieval Archaeology

Email:

his010@bangor.ac.uk

Location:

Room T15 Main Arts

Phone:

01248 382154

Research

My research, which is multi-disciplinary, is focused on the archaeology of Britain and Ireland c AD 400–1100. Much are my work has been concentrated on early medieval inscribed stones and stone sculpture, mainly in Wales, but also in Ireland. I am also interested in the archaeology of the early medieval church, especially in Wales, and have recently become interested in the archaeology of power and authority in connection with Project Eliseg and the history of archaeology, especially the work of Edward Lhuyd. (For more information, see below.)

Areas of Teaching & Supervision

Medieval archaeology, especially AD 400-1100.

Courses taught:

Undergraduate

An Introduction to Historic Archaeology AD 400-1500; The Archaeology of the Vikings in Britain and Ireland; Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Art; The Archaeology of Settlement and Economy in Early Medieval Ireland; Warriors and Holy Men: The Archaeology of Early Medieval Wales.

Celtic Archaeology MA

The Archaeology of the Early Medieval Celtic Churches; Theory and Interpretation in Celtic Archaeology (shared)

Topics of current and recent research students:

Roman period burial in Wales
The origins and development of insular letters
Liturgy and the Irish high crosses
The mathematics of early medieval insular interlace
Enamelled metalwork in Early Anglo-Saxon England
Romanesque church architecture and sculpture in Anglesey
Early medieval sculpture in south-east Ireland: context and function
Image and reality in medieval warfare: Wales c.1100 – 1450
The history of archaeology in Wales c1846–1939

Current Research

Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales

My major research project has been focused on completion of A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales, Volume III, North Wales, which will be published by the University of Wales Press in 2012/13. It has been funded by the British Academy, the AHRC and the Cambrian Archaeological Association and is in partnershiop with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. This is the last of three regional volumes, I on South-East Wales and the borders (Mark Redknap and John Lewis) and II on South-West Wales (by myself) were published in 2007.

Project Eliseg

This joint research project with Dr Gary Robinson (Bangor University) and Dr Howard Williams and Professor Dai Morgan Evans (University of Chester) aims to understand the complex historical and archaeological context of the ninth-century Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen (Denbighshire). The Pillar was formerly a cross and the lengthy inscription is a piece of propaganda associated with the late eighth- and early ninth-century rulers of Powys (See N. Edwards 2009, ‘Rethinking the Pillar of Eliseg’, Antiquaries Journal, 89, 143–78). Two seasons of excavation (2010, 2011) have taken place so far, funded by Cadw, the University of Wales, the University of Chester and Bangor University. Excavation has concentrated on the mound on which the Pillar of Eliseg stands. This has revealed an Early Bronze Age kerbed cairn which seems to have been reused for burial in the post-Roman centuries, as well as the 1773 ‘excavation’ of part of the mound before the Pillar was re-erected. For more information, see http://www.projecteliseg.org/ and Project Eliseg on Facebook and You Tube.

The Archaeology of the Early Medieval Church in Britain and Ireland

I am interested in using a multi-disciplinary approach to identify a hierarchy of early medieval ecclesiastical sites and related Christian monuments, particularly in Wales, but also in other parts of western and northern Britain and Ireland. The presence of sculpture can be a very useful archaeological indicator. I have recently edited a book The Archaeology of the Early Medieval Celtic Churches (2009).

The Early Medieval Wales Archaeology Research Group

This group, which I co-ordinate, brings together all those with an interest in the archaeology of Wales c. AD 400–1100. It aims to promote research on early medieval Wales and meets annually to discuss new projects, recent excavations and other discoveries. In 2009 it met at Bangor University to celebrate its 25th anniversary with a multi-disciplinary conference on The Archaeology of Early Medieval Wales – IN CONTEXT’.

Edward Lhuyd (c1660–1709) – antiquary, natural scientist and Celtic linguist

Edward Lhuyd and his associates were responsible for recording many early medieval inscribed stones and pieces of stone sculpture for the first time. I am currently researching his antiquarian contribution. I have also curated, with Emeritus Professor Brynley Roberts, an exhibition to celebrate his diverse achievements at the National Library of Wales in summer 2009.

Key & Recent Publications

Read full list of publications

Books

2009 Edwards, N. (ed.) The Archaeology of the Early Medieval Celtic Churches, Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph 29 / Society for Church Archaeology Monograph 1, Leeds, Maney, xi + 411 pages, numerous black-and-white and colour illustrations. Includes ‘The archaeology of the early medieval Celtic churches – an introduction’, 1–18.

2007 Edwards, N. (with contributions by H. Jackson, H. McKee and P. Sims-Williams), A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales, Volume II, South-West Wales, University of Wales Press.

2001 Redknap, M., Edwards, N., Youngs, S., Lane, A. and Knight, J., (eds), Pattern and Purpose in Insular Art. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Insular art, Oxbow Books.

1997 Edwards, N., (ed.) Landscape and Settlement in Medieval Wales, Oxbow Monograph 81.

1992 Edwards, N. and Lane, A. (eds) The Early Church in Wales and the West, Oxbow Monograph 13.

1990 Edwards, N., The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland, Batsford/University of Pennsylvania Press.

1996 paperback edition. 1999, 2001, 2004 reprints by Routledge (now print on demand).

Exhibition Catalogue

2010 Edwards, N. and Roberts, B. F. Edward Lhuyd 1660–1709, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth, 43pp. numerous colour photos (in Welsh and English).

Articles

2011 Edwards, N. ‘Viking-age sculpture in north-west Wales: wealth, power, patronage and the Christian landscape’, in F. Edmonds and P. Russell (eds), Tome: Studies in Medieval Celtic History and Law in honour of Thomas Charles-Edwards, Woodbridge, 73–87.

2010 Edwards, N. ‘Edward Lhuyd: an archaeologist’s view’, Welsh History Review, 25(1), 20–50.

2010 Edwards, N., Lane, A. and Redknap, M. ‘Early medieval Wales: an updated framework for archaeological research’, http://www.archaeoleg.org.uk/pdf/reviewdocs/earlymedreview.pdf

2009 Edwards, N. 2009 ‘Rethinking the Pillar of Eliseg’, Antiquaries Journal, 89, 143–78.

2008 Edwards, N. ‘An early medieval penannular brooch from Ty’n y Coed, Pentraeth, Anglesey’, Archaeologia Cambrensis, 157, 153–6.

2008 Ghey, E., Edwards, N., Johnston, R. ‘Categorizing roundhouse settlements in Wales: a critical perspective’, Studia Celtica, 42, 1–25.

2007 Edwards, N. ‘Edward Lhuyd and the origins of early medieval Celtic archaeology’, Antiquaries Journal, 87, 165–96.

2007 Edwards, N. ‘The early medieval inscribed stones and stone sculpture in south-west Wales: the Irish Sea connection’, in R. Moss (ed.) Making and Meaning. Proceedings of the 5th International Insular Art Conference, Trinity College Dublin 2005, Four Courts Press, 184–97.

2007 Ghey, E., Edwards, N., Johnston, R. and Pope, R. 2007 Characterising the Welsh roundhouse: chronology, inhabitation and landscape Internet Archaeology 23, 3.4

2006 Edwards, N. ‘The early medieval sculpture of Bangor Fawr yn Arfon’ in M. Meeke (ed.), The Modern Traveller to our Past. Festschrift in honour of Ann Hamlin, DPK, 105–11.

2005 Edwards, N., Lane, A. Bapty, I. and Redknap, M., ‘Early medieval Wales: a framework for archaeological research’, Archaeol. Wales, 45, 33–46.

2005 Edwards, N., ‘The archaeology of early medieval Ireland, c.400-1169: settlement and economy’, in D. Ó Crónín (ed.), A New History of Ireland, I Prehistoric and Early Ireland, Oxford University Press, 235–300.

2002 Edwards, N., ‘Celtic saints and early medieval archaeology’, in A. T. Thacker and R. Sharpe (eds), Local Saints and Local Churches in the Early Medieval West, Oxford University Press, 225–65.

2001 Edwards, N., ‘Early medieval inscribed stones and stone sculpture in Wales: context and function’, Medieval Archaeology, 45, 15–39.