Issue 10 (2011) – Rosetta

This paper explores the relationship between history and archaeology and presents pertinent areas where theory and practice can be shared. It will concentrate on the United Irishmen‟s 1798 Rebellion. This conflict encapsulates many issues relevant to the study of conflict archaeology and military history, in terms of the physical evidence in the archaeological record, artefacts associated with the Rebellion and the sites that are connected to it. In particular, the main focus is to ascertain whether archaeology can give new interpretations of the Rebellion and, by so doing, further increase our understanding of the military conduct of Crown Forces. As a pivotal period of British and Irish history, the archaeological study of the conflict can reveal much about the nature of these locally raised Yeomanry and Militia regiments and their Fencible counterparts. Using archaeological practice and recent discoveries, combined with artefactual evidence and documentary sources, a more detailed and informative view of 1798 can be tentatively constructed. Whilst still a work in progress, this paper proposes that an integrated approach between archaeological and military historical practice, as opposed to fragmentation along traditional disciplinary lines, is not only logical but also of mutual academic benefit.