Maeve, EXARC member since 2019, is a culinary archaeologist who is working towards her PhD in experimental archaeology at UCD School of Archaeology. Last week, she was presented with the “Emerging Voice Award” at the Irish Food Writing Awards for her research in this field.

“The archaeological study of food is a passion of mine, and to receive such recognition for this research is a privilege of mine.” Maeve wrote on her Instagram account.

Her research looks into Medieval Irish recipes – of which little written texts have survived - by examining the remains in fauna and flora mentioned in excavation reports and links them to spices and other food-related things from literary sources of the period.

Maeve connects experimental and culinary archaeology to cook and bake medieval recipes. She has written several articles for the Dublin InQuirer including a recipe on How to Cook a Medieval Custard Tart among many others. Back in April 2020, Maeve was on the EXARC show, discussing her research of bread making in Medieval Ireland. You can check the podcast episode here.

EXARC congratulates Maeve with this achievement.