The study of relict plants involves the examination of modern landscapes for the presence of plants that may have survived from or been used by people in the past. It is becoming established as a novel way to gain insights into past communities’ growing or cultivation practices as well as potential medicinal and dietary concerns. This project sets out to understand if certain plants now growing at medieval castles survive from the medieval period when they were possibly planted or grown by medieval people. By completing ecological surveys at four geographical disparate but culturally similar castle sites and combining these results with documentary, architectural, archaeological as well as folkloric research, we can further inform our understanding of medieval lived experiences.

Dr Karen Dempsey and Dr Fiona MacGowan