I’ve not got to blog in ages for a multitude of reasons. Not making time to do it and then wasting that time once I get on-line, being at the top of the list. Sending and replying to messages and monitoring forums etc. gets in the way most and then being busy elsewhere and not having any brain left follows in behind them.
I suppose I have 6 months or more back log but I’d never be done filling in the gaps. I’ll keep it to the last week, mostly.
My brain time/actual time is being taken up with a couple of things right now. Apart from a bout with the flu and a spike in the theatre work it’s my interest in things historic and archaeological that has taken over the most. It’s kind of alarming, to me, that I’m doing some of the stuff that I am. And also how interconnected it can all be.
‘Caherconnell Cashel’: The press in the County of Clare has been hopping with articles following a series of archaeological excavations in the Burren area. Specifically the Caherconnell Cashel digs of last year and the new ones this summer. For those of you not from Ireland or up on the archaeological features of Ireland, a Cashel is a form of Ring Fort made of stone. In Ireland an earthen Ring Fort is commonly called a ‘Rath’ and the stone equivalent a ‘Cashel’. This Cashel is a lot different from most in the region as it’s twice the size and has really thick walls, 3 meters thick in places.
The Cashel wall.
From the air.
I have, of course, been following the press coverage and watching the websites of the site itself and of the archaeology company that are conducting the digs.
I’ve been to the Cashel before but not really known what I’ve been looking at. That’s why these digs have been undertaken, to try and understand this important structure both in its physical landscape and in its own time. A number of weeks ago Jenn and her buddy Jodi (see MySpace friends) were over her on holidays and I managed to convince them they wanted to go see this thing. Hey, it’s the Burren, it’s like the surface of the moon with patches of grass. They wanted to see it, really!
The Burren.
Anyway, while we were there, and even though it was the weekend, I got to meet one of the Archaeologists, Joe McCooey who was there with his sister/Artist drafting an impression of the feature, so it was well worth the drive out, for me anyway. We had a good chat about the digs but he couldn’t give me the goods on the most recent feature unearthed. He said that they’d have to get all the data on the table before they could make any suggestions as to what it was.
‘Clare Archaeological and Historical Society’: About two weeks ago the Clare Archaeological and Historical Society announced its winter season of lectures. The first one was only going to be on the “Archaeological excavations at Caherconnell Cashel, Co. Clare: Implications for Ringfort Chronology and Gaelic Settlement” and would be presented by Graham Hull, the dig Director, from TVAS Archaeology Ltd. and Dr. Michelle Comber, NUIG. Ah, music to my ears! Beth and I decided to join the Archaeological and Historical Society as there are several other lectures we’d be into and sure we could do with being in another club :P It would be €5 a lecture without membership and free with it. Membership is only €20 for family which also lines us up for their summer field trip season. Score! Mary from the re-enactment group also joined her and her husband up. We car pooled to the lecture.
I won’t go into the full lecture. It was on the 2007 dig mostly, as you’d expect since the final dig report is done and available on line. The rest of the lecture was on this years dig and a good overview of the finds collected. Quite exciting, as most of it was pre the dig report and lots not covered in the press at all. The big stuff they found had been covered in the local press such as a circa 14th century disarticulated female skeleton of about 14 or 15 years of age.
Press shot.
It was good to have a lot of the press blur brought back into focus, especially the one about the oldest body in Ireland being found. Laughable story, the article jumped backwards and forwards in time more than Doctor Who. Again with the feature above, the lecturers like Mr. McCooey were careful not to commit to say what it is they found. They want to compile all the information from this dig and perhaps excavate the second half of the feature before they make any thing that could be take as a quote. It was a grand lecture but for us at the back, it lacked depth. I was aware that the excavation report was available on-line so I knew I’d get the better scoop there.
The excavation report 2007: I won’t bore you all with the ins and outs of this report, what would be the point. The dig overview is available for all to read at http://www.tvasireland.ie/caherconnell.html and a link to the report in PDF form is at http://www.tvasireland.ie/Reports/Caherconnell%2007E0820%20final%20report.pdf
Since then however I was contacted by the owner of the cashel about working with him on some project or demonstration event for Heritage week 2009. That archaeologist I met, Joe McCooey, only went and sent him an e-mail after we met that day. I’ve to call to see him once I get my voice back. I’ll have to do it soon as the national heritage grants applications have to be submitted in 3 weeks time to get the cash for such projects. Cool out, I love doing gigs at the real thing.
Another archaeological journey that I’m on: As mentioned above the Heritage Council grants scheme is in effect now for 2009. The forms have to be returned within 3 weeks. As some of you may know I live near the ruins of a monastic settlement on an island in the lake I live next to (Check Jenn and Jodi’s photo galleries ). It’s called Iniscealtra (Church Island) known locally as ‘Holy Island’.
In the early ‘70’s, 1970 to ’75 a series of archaeological excavations were undertaken by agent by the name of Liam de Poar. His full reports were never fully published. One of the grants available is for ‘Unpublished Archaeological excavation reports’. I’m pursuing these reports for publication. I’ve had to put in a good bit of time contacting people in museums, at the council offices, the OPW (Office of public works) and the National Monuments Service. I think I’ve finally found these reports and thankfully de Poar finalised them the year before he died. For some reason no one has published these reports. I’m waiting for the National Monuments Service Archives to return my e-mail. The general NMS guys came back over night so I’m hopeful the archive guys are as nice.
I will be blogging on this more now I’ve started.
Pics in this blog not taken by me are from http://www.burrrenforts.ie the owners of the fort and from http://www.tvasireland.ie/ The company conducting the dig, Press shot included. Detailed info on the Caherconnel excavations can be found on either site.
