THIS ARTICLE CRITICALLY EXAMINES medieval1 archaeology’s relationship with myth. A surge of research examining pre-Christian belief has seen mythology, place names and folklore increasingly utilised to reconstruct mentalities and cosmologies. As a wider global phenomenon, this trend comes with pitfalls that must be addressed more systematically. This article examines these issues through early medieval Ireland, beginning with an overview of recent trends in cognate disciplines, before proceeding through case studies of Tara, Brú na Bóinne (both Co Meath), and Nenagh (Co Tipperary). Far from being relics of prehistoric cult practices, many deities populating these landscapes may have been consciously invented for political, allegorical and exegetical reasons during the medieval period. This creative process had a marked 8th-century monumental dimension, contemporary with the floruit of saga literature. This precludes such evidence being utilised to reconstruct pre-Christian cosmologies. This has broad implications for research across European medieval archaeology that would seek to access ritual, belief and religion.

中文翻译：

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中世纪早期欧洲的考古学与神话：早期爱尔兰的众神

这篇文章批判性地检验了中世纪考古学与神话的关系。大量研究前基督教信仰的研究表明，神话、地名和民间传说越来越多地用于重建心态和宇宙观。作为一种更广泛的全球现象，这种趋势伴随着必须更系统地解决的陷阱。本文通过中世纪早期的爱尔兰研究这些问题，首先概述同源学科的最新趋势，然后通过 Tara、Brú na Bóinne（均为 Co Meath）和 Nenagh（Co Tipperary）的案例研究。远非史前崇拜习俗的遗迹，许多居住在这些景观中的神灵可能是在中世纪时期出于政治、寓言和释经的原因有意识地发明的。这一创作过程具有一个显着的 8 世纪纪念性维度，与传奇文学的花样同时代。这排除了将此类证据用于重建前基督教宇宙学的可能性。这对寻求了解仪式、信仰和宗教的整个欧洲中世纪考古学的研究具有广泛的意义。