The Archeological Institute of America and the UMKC Classics Program present John Soderberg, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Denison University. Dr. Soderberg will deliver a lecture titled “Beyond Saints and Scholars: An Archaeologist’s View of Monasteries in Early Medieval Ireland”

Medieval Ireland was filled with monasteries. By 800, some sections of the island had a religious settlement every few kilometers. Why did monasteries seem such a good idea? What is it about these religious settlements that fit the changing circumstances of Ireland so well? This talk takes an archaeologist’s view of these questions and seeks answers from the materials archaeologists love: trash, skeletons, and broken bits of metal. These remains of daily life give clues about how these communities constructed their lives and what relationships they forged with surrounding landscapes.