Ways of death: cremation and belief in first-millennium AD Ireland

Archaeological studies of belief, ideology and commemorative strategies in Ireland, elsewhere Europe, neglect the continuation cremation far beyond supposed fifth-century AD threshold for shift to inhumation under influence Christianity. A database radiocarbon dates from first-millennium Ireland permits identification new patterns early medieval (AD 400–1100) mortuary practices, including a phase cremation. The authors discuss archaeological historical implications demonstrate how data-driven approaches can enhance challenge established metanarratives. They also highlight serious methodological interpretative issues that these data pose current narrative frameworks, their on post-excavation strategies.