This volume deals with the animal bone assemblage from Knowth and provides the first comprehensive overview of the archaeological evidence for the use of animal resources in Ireland during the Early Christian period.
It presents groundbreaking evidence for the use of animal resources in Ireland during that time, including the latest results of analysis of one of the largest assemblages of animal bone recovered from an Irish site. This provides an opportunity to review the faunal data recorded from other Early Christian sites in Ireland. A gazetteer summarises this data from more than 30 excavations across the country.
The concluding premise of the analysis is that the animal bones demonstrate a fundamental shift in Irish livestock economy from the eighth century AD onwards.