Table of Contents

Introduction • 1: Discovering the Oldest Irish Tradition • 2: Impossible Stories and Impertinent Tales • 3: Excavating the Dreamtime • 4: The Archaeology of the Irish National Origin Legend • 5: The Natural Environment • 6: The Built Environment • 7: Warfare and Weapons • 8: Transport • 9: Material Culture • 10: Burial • 11: Whence the Dreamtime?

Promotional Information

An essential exploration of the native Irish retelling of their own origins, as related by medieval manuscripts

About the Author

J. P. Mallory is a world expert on the interconnection of archaeology and linguistics and is the author of the standard work In Search of the Indo-Europeans and The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European. He has published numerous other works, including the hugely acclaimed The Origins of the Irish. He is Emeritus Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at Queen's University Belfast and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Reviews

'An essential modern reader on the development of our concepts of the most ancient past of Ireland … formidably referenced and thorough' - Irish Times

'Mallory’s book will be of interest to those already immersed in the study of medieval Ireland, but hopefully will also prove a way into this fascinating subject for those new to the field' - Times Higher Education

'An extensive, erudite and humorous study' - Current Archaeology

'Eminently readable and enjoyable' - Journal of Irish Archaeology