The PhD project of QUADRAT student Cherie Edwards has been awarded a prestigious NEIF (National Environmental Isotopic Facilities) Grant to support her UKRI-NERC funded project focused on refining the chronologies of Bronze Age upland settlements. The grant will cover analytical costs, staff expertise, and publication assistance to perform radiocarbon dating and bayseian analysis on 41 samples from two high -profile Bronze Age nucleated hilltop settlement sites in Ireland by partnering with the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU).
The samples come from the Season 1 and Season 2 excavations done at Brusselstown Ring in County Wicklow and Knocknashee Hillfort in County Sligo. Brusselstown ring was surveyed in 2017 by QUADRAT supervisor Dr. James O’Driscoll and excavated by Cherie and her Principal Supervisor Dr. Dirk Brandherm in August 2024 and April 2025. Season 1 excavations were fully funded by QUADRAT, while Season 2 was funded by QUADRAT and a grant from the Prehistoric Society. Knocknashee was excavated in 2017 and 2020 by Dr. Dirk Brandherm as part of a separate project. The 2024 and 2025 excavations of Brusselstown Ring have provided support for Dr. O’Driscoll’s earlier estimation that the site is the largest prehistoric settlement in Ireland and a key link in understanding the development of proto-urbanism and urbanism in Prehistoric Northern Europe.
Notes for Editors
| Published | Thursday September 4th, 2025 |
