Joanne Machin
My Research
Research Interests
Material Culture Studies
Analyzing medieval artifacts such as pottery, tools, and ornaments to glean insights into daily life, technology, and craftsmanship.
Landscape Archaeology
Examining the interplay between human activity and the environment to discern patterns of land use and resource management.
Cultural Interaction
Investigating cross-cultural exchanges, migrations, and conflicts to understand the dynamics of cultural diversity and identity.
Placename Archaeology
Analysis of Norse, Gaelic and Scottish placenames within the landscape
Cartography
Evaluation and analysis of early maps and sea charts to understand medieval society perceptions and dynamics
Historical Archaeology
Historical archaeology includes the study of archaeology dealing with places, material remains, and issues from the past or present through written records, oral traditions and folklore.
About Me
I am a final year PhD student at the Orkney Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands. My multi-disciplinary research considers aspects of early medieval maritime pilgrimage and interactions between the sea and the land throughout the Irish Sea Zone. I have presented my work at a wide range of conferences, winning the best paper award in 2023 for my paper entitled ‘Out of the Blue’ Evaluating Maritime Pilgrimage in the Irish Sea Zone‘, at the Australian Early Medieval Association Conference. Other Academic papers include Multidisciplinary Methods, Maritime Routes as Boundaries, Brehon Placenames in the Rhins of Scotland, Marine and Land based Archaeology.
I teach on the Historical Archaeology and Early Medieval Archaeology programmes for undergraduate and masters students at the UHI and I also mentor higher education students across several UK universities.
I am a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities, Scotland and I also enjoy engaging with many other clubs and societies across the UK, Scandinavia and Europe.
I live in Scotland with my family and a menagerie of animals with interests including travel and photography with history and archaeology always at the fore of all that I do.
