tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73490092680210355292024-03-13T06:14:30.254-07:00Ulster-Scots Archaeological ProjectWelcome to the blog of the Ulster-Scots Archaeological Project. This project relates to Ulster-Scots history, heritage and culture and understanding the impact that the Plantation had on the landscape, peoples, architecture and the historical legacies for the 21st-century’s communities in Northern Ireland. Follow our blog for updates on our excavation results and visitors to the site from the local community and schools!Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-5705518279600710402016-03-18T07:40:00.001-07:002016-03-18T07:40:38.681-07:00Final Workshops<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tuesday was the last day of our outreach workshops for The Ulster Scots Archaeological Services Project. It has been a great couple of months meeting a fantastic and diverse group of participants. We have met with 12 groups and over 360 people in the past four months and shared what we know about the archaeology of the Plantation.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gavin Donaghy talking to the residents of Clifton House, Hopewell Avenue.</td></tr>
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This week we visited two residential homes, Clifton House on Hopewell Avenue and Clifton House on North Queen Street. We had very lively discussions about both the artefacts and the history surrounding them and it was great to hear the groups reminisce about their own experiences with cultural change over the past century.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Residents of Clifton House, North Queen Street examining some artefacts.</td></tr>
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mary and Geraldine Scullion for inviting us and for taking part in our workshops. We had a great time with both groups and got lots of fantastic questions and feedback. </div>
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We would also like to thank all of the groups that took part in the outreach programme. We had a brilliant response from everyone involved and enjoyed sharing what we know with everyone. This is the end of our workshops programme but please keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news about Ulster Scots Archaeology.</div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-26650684859136111312016-01-29T00:57:00.000-08:002016-01-29T00:57:01.668-08:00Workshops in Carrickfergus<div style="text-align: justify;">
We brought our Plantation Workshops to Carrickfergus Museum last week and what better place to have them than in a museum surrounded by artefacts from the period? We held six workshops at the museum and invited both primary and post primary schools to attend. We got a great response from the local schools and the workshops filled up quickly!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children From Carrickfergus Model PS look at Plantation period maps.</td></tr>
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We would like to thank all of the schools for taking part in the workshops. Everyone was very enthusiastic and eager to learn all they could about the archaeology of the Plantation. The children particularly enjoyed the part where they got to interact and interpret artefacts uncovered during our excavations at Monea and Derrywoone Castles. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children from Carrickfergus College get to grips with the artefacts.</td></tr>
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The museum worked wonderfully as the venue for these workshops. Each group was taken on a tour of the museum itself where they learned about the history of the town during the 17th century. There were lots of questions about the artefacts on display and the town itself from every group that came along. We would particularly like to thank Shirin Murphy, Museum Officer for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and the staff from the museum for all of their help running the workshops.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children from St Nicolas' primary learn about the castle during the Plantation.</td></tr>
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We had a great time with all of the fantastic schools that came to visit us. And we're still not finished so stay tuned! </div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-62550718219754844922016-01-15T02:09:00.002-08:002016-01-15T02:09:23.830-08:00New Year New WorkshopsHappy New Year!<br />
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We have hit the ground running this year starting it off by continuing our outreach workshops. Our first workshop was at Eglinton Presbyterian Church with their Senior Citizens group. We had a great afternoon exploring the Plantation history of Belfast and showing off the artefacts we'd uncovered during our three excavations.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eglinton Senior Citizens examining the artefacts.</td></tr>
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We'd like to thank Vera Hardy for inviting us along and to the group for taking part and making it so enjoyable. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ladies inspecting a jug handle.</td></tr>
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Next on the list were two primary schools, Our lady Of Lourdes on the Antrim road and Malvern Primary School off the lower Shankill Road. Both schools really engaged with the workshops, asking fantastic insightful questions and had great fun interacting with the artefacts we brought along to show them.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children of Malvern Primary School getting their hands on history.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gavin Donaghy (IAC) with the children of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School discussing 17th century artefacts</td></tr>
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We'd like to thank both schools for inviting us to come along and teach the children about the history of the Plantation. In particular, we would like to thank the principal of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Mr Merrick, and the acting principal of Malvern Primary School, Ms Barber, for all of their help.</div>
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We'll be continuing our workshops in North Belfast and Carrickfergus for the rest of this month, so stay tuned for more updates.</div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-79062243229480452452015-12-22T01:05:00.000-08:002015-12-22T01:07:24.949-08:00Back in Business!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s been a while since our last
post but rest assured we have not been idle!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In between writing up the
excavation reports for Monea and Derrywoone, we have been developing an
education pack for Key Stages 2 & 3 and compiling a general reader booklet.
The education pack is based around the three excavations that we have
undertaken and is full of exciting exercises designed to stimulate discussion
about the Plantation period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJ_B92qQFq8/VnkNTTKYebI/AAAAAAAAAfo/ESslvTOY5QM/s1600/Education%2Bpack%2Bfront%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJ_B92qQFq8/VnkNTTKYebI/AAAAAAAAAfo/ESslvTOY5QM/s400/Education%2Bpack%2Bfront%2Bcover.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front cover of the Education Pack</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The general reader booklet is a
short summary of the excavations that have taken place at Servants Hill,
Derrywoone Castle and Monea Castle. Both the education pack and general reader
text will be available to download from the Dept of Culture, Arts and Leisure
website in due course.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front cover of the General Reader text</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Due to the overwhelming success
of our excavation open days and the positive feedback from our school visits
and volunteers, we have also developed a series of workshops called ‘Hands on
History’, which are aimed at community groups who wouldn’t necessarily get the
opportunity to engage with their local heritage. These workshops will be
delivered in North Belfast and Carrickfergus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first event was held on Dec
15<sup>th</sup> at Art Ability on Agnes St, Belfast with groups from Fort
William and Falls Road. We used some of the artefacts recovered from the
Derrywoone and Monea excavations to describe how people during the Plantation
might have lived and what sort of materials they used to construct their
houses. We also used art to further interpret the artefacts. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2r6PDMR6hLo/VnkOSwXcDjI/AAAAAAAAAgM/y3kQw1jawj0/s1600/Launch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2r6PDMR6hLo/VnkOSwXcDjI/AAAAAAAAAgM/y3kQw1jawj0/s400/Launch2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Launching the 'Hands on History' workshops at Art Ability with Brian McTeggart (DCAL)<br />
and William Humphrey MLA (centre).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would like to
thank Gary Linton from Art Ability for inviting us to hold the workshop at
their facility and Brian McTeggart (DCAL) and William Humphrey MLA for
launching the workshops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gavin Donaghy (IAC) explains how the Raven maps have helped us to<br />
discover new archaeological sites during this project.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our next workshop will be in
early January so stay tuned!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-91547546447277454282014-06-12T13:27:00.000-07:002014-06-14T12:30:11.098-07:00Castle DrawingsAs promised in earlier posts here are a select few drawings by some of the many school children who visited Monea castle.. Fantastic work!<br />
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<br />Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-36237924782758260132014-06-04T14:58:00.000-07:002014-06-04T14:58:04.141-07:00BackfillingWe are now in the last week of the dig. The bulk of the work this week will entail finishing up excavation and recording and then backfilling all the cuttings. Although we didn't find any clear structural evidence of buildings around the perimeter of the castle we did identify some interesting landscaping features, also the finds such as the musket balls and clay pipes also tell their own story of life in and around the castle in the early-mid 17th century.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony backfilling Cutting 4</td></tr>
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The highlight of the dig was definitely the school visits which were hugely enjoyable for the crew while we also have some very positive feedback from the school children and teachers. One of the tasks undertaken by the pupils was to draw/interpret aspects of the castle and we hope to put up a few of the best drawings in the next blog post.. Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-54052417420480091362014-05-29T06:39:00.001-07:002014-05-31T02:34:25.571-07:00Wednesday school visit<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Wednesday, the sun was out and we had a great visit from St Aidan’s
High school, Derrylin.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dy7k0DivMeU/U4c2jiHDCdI/AAAAAAAAAco/t86Fw7N4UCI/s1600/IMG_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dy7k0DivMeU/U4c2jiHDCdI/AAAAAAAAAco/t86Fw7N4UCI/s1600/IMG_0353.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pupils from St Aidans on the site tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The latrine chute was a big hit, as always, but for some reason
everyone wants to stick their heads up it. Not something I would fancy!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2i2gmZ_0GA/U4c3CIV2PjI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cEss_tqwWVw/s1600/IMG_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2i2gmZ_0GA/U4c3CIV2PjI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cEss_tqwWVw/s1600/IMG_0355.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good thing this toilet isn't in use any more</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Christina gave her regular talk at the dovecote it’s all about ‘feathers,
flesh and faeces’ apparently.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MkyEMTQtay4/U4c3bbMun1I/AAAAAAAAAc4/lHi5yAZW25I/s1600/IMG_20140528_113937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MkyEMTQtay4/U4c3bbMun1I/AAAAAAAAAc4/lHi5yAZW25I/s1600/IMG_20140528_113937.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christina at the dovecote.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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One of the school children brought along his ‘toy’ smoking pipe – good comparison
here between it and our 17<sup>th</sup>-century clay pipe.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L2LXODRQR0k/U4c31InZhLI/AAAAAAAAAdA/xstox1vT_ag/s1600/IMG_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L2LXODRQR0k/U4c31InZhLI/AAAAAAAAAdA/xstox1vT_ag/s1600/IMG_0364.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats not a pipe - this is a pipe!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oxMchhC3k4o/U4c4FuH9c2I/AAAAAAAAAdI/1tyjtRASxEo/s1600/IMG_0367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oxMchhC3k4o/U4c4FuH9c2I/AAAAAAAAAdI/1tyjtRASxEo/s1600/IMG_0367.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole gang.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-33744364183399327712014-05-27T13:19:00.000-07:002014-05-27T13:20:26.968-07:00Sunshine and unexpected findsSeemed like the summer had finally arrived today. The sun was out in force at Monea.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l6YtxDK75iQ/U4TuEgz0UiI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Q9KNdbuq3ZQ/s1600/Tuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l6YtxDK75iQ/U4TuEgz0UiI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Q9KNdbuq3ZQ/s1600/Tuesday.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monea in the sunshine </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
We had an unexpected discovery today. Tony found what looks like a stone axe in a charcoal-rich layer under rubble in Cutting 6. This was found right beside a curious looking stone which has a groove in its side into which the axe actually fits quite well. We cant work this one out..<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6W3pk_Mlf0/U4TvOcRbTNI/AAAAAAAAAcM/77MyZcKriJg/s1600/IMG_0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6W3pk_Mlf0/U4TvOcRbTNI/AAAAAAAAAcM/77MyZcKriJg/s1600/IMG_0326.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony and his axe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KGio-Z2oQo/U4Tu5wEsmDI/AAAAAAAAAbs/rTLnAowklZQ/s1600/axe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KGio-Z2oQo/U4Tu5wEsmDI/AAAAAAAAAbs/rTLnAowklZQ/s1600/axe1.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where it was found.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g75gD3r1g4U/U4Tu8iiyO6I/AAAAAAAAAb0/vrrG0tujsBI/s1600/axe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g75gD3r1g4U/U4Tu8iiyO6I/AAAAAAAAAb0/vrrG0tujsBI/s1600/axe2.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And it fits into the groove!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Meanwhile Camilla is digging away in Cutting 7 at the latrine chute. There seems to be a small drain here coming away from the base of the chute but this is heading towards a big slab of possible bedrock? It will all become clearer when the rest of the drain is taken out - tomorrow..</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMwH14ap3Ik/U4TvZG71z6I/AAAAAAAAAcU/jO-f_7n-GEc/s1600/IMG_0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMwH14ap3Ik/U4TvZG71z6I/AAAAAAAAAcU/jO-f_7n-GEc/s1600/IMG_0334.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 7 and the latrine chute at the east end of the castle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
We opened a Cutting (Cutting 8) at the north-eastern corner tower of the bawn to see if this (angular) tower was once rounded (as is suggested in Jope's plan of the castle in 1951 - see first Monea blog post). We have just exposed some very nice stone at the base of this Cutting. Need to have a think about this one..</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1GNhUq2ve0/U4TvbM0_4-I/AAAAAAAAAcc/SWwSfzsixh0/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1GNhUq2ve0/U4TvbM0_4-I/AAAAAAAAAcc/SWwSfzsixh0/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 8</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
More anon...</div>
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<div>
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</div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-52311361743133674262014-05-26T11:31:00.002-07:002014-05-27T05:57:15.309-07:00Open Day<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had our Monea open day on Saturday past and it was a great success. We had over 150 visitors on the day and thankfully the rain stayed away.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7yrFuJzuOfY/U4OCpoYzdRI/AAAAAAAAAas/UAoTlb7t9jA/s1600/open+day+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7yrFuJzuOfY/U4OCpoYzdRI/AAAAAAAAAas/UAoTlb7t9jA/s1600/open+day+2.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tony the blacksmith showing the visitors his smithy..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arranged tours of the castle and Cuttings and the finds from the dig were on display was well. We were also joined by David, Tony and John from Living History group Claiomh (http://www.claiomh.ie/) who put on a fine display of weaponry, metalworking and leather working of the period. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzHS7UrQdec/U4OFDUj6cgI/AAAAAAAAAa4/jgI1h0Sb5-s/s1600/open+day+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lzHS7UrQdec/U4OFDUj6cgI/AAAAAAAAAa4/jgI1h0Sb5-s/s1600/open+day+3.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David with musket and weapon display.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fHN807epO8/U4OFZ3tPkWI/AAAAAAAAAbI/xJobsYKkdPY/s1600/open+day+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fHN807epO8/U4OFZ3tPkWI/AAAAAAAAAbI/xJobsYKkdPY/s1600/open+day+1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visitors enjoying the living history displays.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the children (and adults) were in digging too.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-11OsEn1VGZE/U4OFcg8qXNI/AAAAAAAAAbU/rZhoylP78hg/s1600/open+day+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-11OsEn1VGZE/U4OFcg8qXNI/AAAAAAAAAbU/rZhoylP78hg/s1600/open+day+5.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christina trying to keep charge in Cutting 6..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Thanks to everyone who visited on Saturday and made it such an enjoyable day out!!</span></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-50256325982450977582014-05-23T04:40:00.000-07:002014-05-26T10:18:26.639-07:00Another busy day, and the tv were here!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday was a busy day..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were delighted to have a large group from the Clogher
Historical Society for a day’s outing. The group made a day of it and brought a
big picnic. Nick gave an excellent tour of the castle and some of the group
went digging for the afternoon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDLe4jDJXUk/U38vuc__TlI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/KnY_RwUn_Lw/s1600/IMG_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDLe4jDJXUk/U38vuc__TlI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/KnY_RwUn_Lw/s1600/IMG_0250.JPG" height="266" title="" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nick giving a guided tour of the castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George joined Camilla in the new Cutting 7 at the base of
the latrine chute – first find was a coin (modern) - it looks like someone
literally ‘spent a penny’ here. Lots of digging left in this one and George
promises to be back for more!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also had a film crew on site from Tern TV who are filming
a new monthly magazine series called The Gaitherin which will be on BBC in a
few weeks (we will keep you posted)<span lang="EN-GB">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3D42cfmHoTg/U38w1dk-XpI/AAAAAAAAAac/ZSVF8dNeyuU/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3D42cfmHoTg/U38w1dk-XpI/AAAAAAAAAac/ZSVF8dNeyuU/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George and Camilla in Cutting 7 with the film crew</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Site director Fintan Walsh, project leader Nick Brannon, Camilla Brannstrom and George
Knight from the Clogher Historical Society were interviewed and the crew got
lots of great shots of the castle and the ongoing excavations.. Twas a great
day, and the sun, on cue, popped out for a while too.</span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Clogher Historical
Society for joining us on Thursday and also for volunteering in the Cuttings
over the last few weeks. You can find out about all the great work that this
society does at <a href="http://www.clogherhistory.ie/home">http://www.clogherhistory.ie/home</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-57691596580150358112014-05-22T00:58:00.002-07:002014-05-26T10:18:55.730-07:00Week Three continues....<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great school visit today. This is our 6<sup>th</sup>
school visit and thus far more than 170 school children have visited the site
already with more to come! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBgT5hQNaOE/U32qh5p6fnI/AAAAAAAAAZs/hjOI5leDyT8/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBgT5hQNaOE/U32qh5p6fnI/AAAAAAAAAZs/hjOI5leDyT8/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">School visit – the finds table</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5j7QoW0L7o/U32rF8v5PSI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/sfniadJi8bA/s1600/IMG_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5j7QoW0L7o/U32rF8v5PSI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/sfniadJi8bA/s1600/IMG_0213.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bingo! I found some pottery</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dungeon in the castle is getting to be a big attraction
for the visits and while everyone loves the digging and sieving at Cutting 6
the drawing tasks are also proving increasingly popular – we might post a few
of the best drawings at the end of the dig…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still digging away in the other trenches and it is clear now
that we have a stone-filled drain or ditch in Cutting 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lOphxDyC3lI/U32rJu2sIYI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/O1KkAloiLn0/s1600/IMG_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lOphxDyC3lI/U32rJu2sIYI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/O1KkAloiLn0/s1600/IMG_0201.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cordoning off Camilla in Cutting 4 with hazard tape, <br />in retrospect, seems a bit harsh.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kfGoTo9moc/U32rNFXR68I/AAAAAAAAAaE/8iVySsLY9WU/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kfGoTo9moc/U32rNFXR68I/AAAAAAAAAaE/8iVySsLY9WU/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ditch/drain in Cutting 4</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately there is nothing in this that we can use to
date it. Camilla is moving on to more interesting things tomorrow – a
cutting at the bottom of the latrine chute! Who knows what she might find,
actually lets not go there..... </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-33820435937080356702014-05-21T02:14:00.003-07:002014-05-21T02:31:34.432-07:00Week Three - another busy week in prospect<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally got the stones out of Cutting 5, and there were lots
of them. Nothing much underneath this rubble however unfortunately except for a
thin charcoal spread - oh well. Still this Cutting did produce a good
range of finds.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dF5jApcpMS4/U3xtfz2kkwI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/pOL9kyJhUeA/s1600/IMG_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dF5jApcpMS4/U3xtfz2kkwI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/pOL9kyJhUeA/s1600/IMG_0183.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 5 after removal of loads of stone!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cutting 6 had always been our ‘starters trench’ for the
school visits but today (Tuesday) we took the opportunity to get down and see
what was under the last few centimeters of topsoil. Looks like we have two
linear features in this one which seem to correspond quite well with the
geophysical survey – Result!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-seNXLwkuUFk/U3xtkAtmXAI/AAAAAAAAAZY/lwgzLKjMfEc/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-seNXLwkuUFk/U3xtkAtmXAI/AAAAAAAAAZY/lwgzLKjMfEc/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 6 - finally got down to the business end<br />
of this one.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a shocking fierce wet day today and our visiting
group of 30 primary school children got soaked – and so did we. They still had
a great day none the less..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oPFCSfVWsCo/U3xs3sM-oNI/AAAAAAAAAZI/YgF77csahV8/s1600/IMG_20140520_114254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oPFCSfVWsCo/U3xs3sM-oNI/AAAAAAAAAZI/YgF77csahV8/s1600/IMG_20140520_114254.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another happy (but soaked!) school group on their way back to class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-29152281116541795502014-05-20T02:18:00.002-07:002014-05-20T02:19:15.007-07:00Open Day 2014 - Saturday 24 May, Monea Castle, Co. Fermanagh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are holding an open day for the excavations at Monea Castle this Saturday, 24th May. This is open to anyone who is interested in finding out more about the castle and what we have discovered to date. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">Please Note: </span></b>Parking for the open day is available at Monea Parish Church which is a 10 min walk to the castle. Please follow signs on the day. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We look forward to meeting everyone and sharing our excavation! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more the merrier!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBi9rLr96MA/U3scwx4t-PI/AAAAAAAAAX4/hB5zq6f9b1A/s1600/open+day+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBi9rLr96MA/U3scwx4t-PI/AAAAAAAAAX4/hB5zq6f9b1A/s1600/open+day+poster.jpg" height="640" width="452" /></a></div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-72551036597296477582014-05-16T04:36:00.003-07:002014-05-16T04:36:58.497-07:00The future of aerial photography!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what the future looks like!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday (Thursday) Gavin Donaghy from <a href="http://www.irisharchaeologicalresearch.com/aerial-services" target="_blank">Irish Archaeological Research</a> visited the site and very kindly took aerial film videos and photos of
Monea with a drone. It was a mad kind of helicopter linked to some very high
spec equipment!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PZo5pUuTJHg/U3X2Kz6KmiI/AAAAAAAAAXo/SDYQVPHitsI/s1600/IMG_0168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PZo5pUuTJHg/U3X2Kz6KmiI/AAAAAAAAAXo/SDYQVPHitsI/s1600/IMG_0168.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gavin with cool goggles that let you see what the drone is filming<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
results are fantastic! Below is one of the many amazing images Gavin took of the castle and our excavation site. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cs-eApVLn0w/U3X1kmhFHbI/AAAAAAAAAXY/buga0_xCsOI/s1600/Aeriel+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cs-eApVLn0w/U3X1kmhFHbI/AAAAAAAAAXY/buga0_xCsOI/s1600/Aeriel+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo courtesy of Gavin Donaghy (Irish Archaeological Research)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We could see the filming in real time (by use of goggles and video
screens).
This allowed us to look right down into the castle and it gives us some great
shots of the excavation cuttings in progress around the castle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_iouSZbnJUs/U3X2H8VDdFI/AAAAAAAAAXg/ymOul-Z-ao0/s1600/IMG_0171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_iouSZbnJUs/U3X2H8VDdFI/AAAAAAAAAXg/ymOul-Z-ao0/s1600/IMG_0171.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monitoring the filming of aerial footage</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We would like to thank Gavin very much for giving up his
time to come out and do this for us. Further details and more photos can be
found at the IAR webpage (<a href="http://www.irisharchaeologicalresearch.com/">http://www.irisharchaeologicalresearch.com/</a>)
and on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Irish-Archaeological-Consultancy-Ltd/174366972612842?ref=hl" target="_blank">IAC’s facebook page</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Fintan is also posting up the odd comment and photo
from this excavation on his twitter account (</span><a href="https://twitter.com/WalshFintan" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://twitter.com/WalshFintan</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More next week.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-65523646062547261402014-05-15T00:58:00.003-07:002014-05-23T04:45:13.450-07:00Day 7 - Stones, stones, stones.........<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stones stones everywhere but not a building in sight (except
that is for the big castle looming over us of course). The cuttings around the
southern end of the castle are producing a huge amount of stone rubble which we are trying to get to the
bottom of.............literally!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vARfHN_x0I/U3RxteRShQI/AAAAAAAAAWw/EC8fatjqGGg/s1600/IMG_0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9vARfHN_x0I/U3RxteRShQI/AAAAAAAAAWw/EC8fatjqGGg/s1600/IMG_0142.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camilla excavating Cutting 4</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ot6hlhhX0cg/U3Ryhmi--hI/AAAAAAAAAXI/53ZEKsX9g80/s1600/IMG_0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ot6hlhhX0cg/U3Ryhmi--hI/AAAAAAAAAXI/53ZEKsX9g80/s1600/IMG_0146.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 5</td></tr>
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Meanwhile we had another very enjoyable school visit and
this time we are having some art classes too. The children here have
been either drawing their favourite feature of the castle.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQaAk6EwWrM/U3Rx2B6PlPI/AAAAAAAAAW4/ccovob2w0hA/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQaAk6EwWrM/U3Rx2B6PlPI/AAAAAAAAAW4/ccovob2w0hA/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Class visit - art corner ;-)</td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
We would like to thank our volunteers from the Clogher
Historical Society who finished a three-day stint today and did some great work
this week!! </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6Zo69P86_4/U3RyCrJ5IYI/AAAAAAAAAXA/qzEiUAl1NKM/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6Zo69P86_4/U3RyCrJ5IYI/AAAAAAAAAXA/qzEiUAl1NKM/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enthusiasts from Clogher Historical Society lending a hand</td></tr>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-24421841833513518962014-05-14T01:02:00.001-07:002014-05-14T01:04:12.929-07:00Week Two and the sun came out for us <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are a bit behind in our daily posts so here is an update
of what has been happening since the latest post last Thursday..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Friday we had our first school visit which was a great
success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aMt6H5lZnkk/U3MdwTknrUI/AAAAAAAAAVg/yLmO6TstdKg/s1600/IMG_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aMt6H5lZnkk/U3MdwTknrUI/AAAAAAAAAVg/yLmO6TstdKg/s1600/IMG_0048.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">School visit - everyone got a chance to dig!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the first of at least eight organised visits of
schools from the Monea area. The children had a tour of the castle, a tour of
the excavations and then broke into groups and they had a go at digging,
sieving and surveying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Monday we were joined by volunteers from the Clogher
Historical Society who got stuck in straight away and made light work of the sod
removal in Cutting 3. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MWpb9MbdpHQ/U3MeeK1eDNI/AAAAAAAAAV0/goFq93Bdb5Q/s1600/IMG_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MWpb9MbdpHQ/U3MeeK1eDNI/AAAAAAAAAV0/goFq93Bdb5Q/s1600/IMG_0066.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Volunteers from the Clogher Historical Society in Cutting 3</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4fi47Sv4FU/U3MhMOVQNTI/AAAAAAAAAWY/3JJiw27VQLo/s1600/IMG_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4fi47Sv4FU/U3MhMOVQNTI/AAAAAAAAAWY/3JJiw27VQLo/s1600/IMG_0072.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nick Brannon, the lead archaeologist for the project, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">was on hand for an excellent photo opportunity.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun came out properly (finally) on Tuesday and we had
another productive day. Deborah from the Clogher volunteers had the best find
of the day, a musket ball, found in Cutting 6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WqKeNiOoHYY/U3Mheb6dYYI/AAAAAAAAAWg/-V2e7RmteCk/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WqKeNiOoHYY/U3Mheb6dYYI/AAAAAAAAAWg/-V2e7RmteCk/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deborah from the Clogher Historical Society and her find!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJVUKa7Kfnw/U3Me9hxy1JI/AAAAAAAAAWM/4YFRxJuJcPc/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJVUKa7Kfnw/U3Me9hxy1JI/AAAAAAAAAWM/4YFRxJuJcPc/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Musket ball!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also had our second school group on Tuesday morning.
Here’s Christina showing the children some examples of things that you might
find on a site. The best suggestion we got for this object from the class was “a
unicorn horn”! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vYeixVSlx6k/U3Me0Fn8-VI/AAAAAAAAAV8/28Z8MuUT1iw/s1600/IMG_0108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vYeixVSlx6k/U3Me0Fn8-VI/AAAAAAAAAV8/28Z8MuUT1iw/s1600/IMG_0108.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Site talk during school visit</span></td></tr>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-12025348600781181342014-05-09T00:51:00.002-07:002014-05-09T00:52:18.396-07:00Day Three - Cutting 1 and 6 <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A group of enthusiastic volunteers from the Cavanaleck
Community Association spent much of the day on site braving the rainy
conditions. After a tour of the castle the group got involved in a bit of
digging and de-sodding in Cutting 6. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ULNaxaY5FeA/U2yIVoTy_VI/AAAAAAAAAVA/RuohE2_9hwE/s1600/IMG_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ULNaxaY5FeA/U2yIVoTy_VI/AAAAAAAAAVA/RuohE2_9hwE/s1600/IMG_0024.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volunteers from Cavanaleck Community Association at Cutting 6</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time the sun had come out in the
afternoon the sod was off and the volunteers were already starting to fill the
finds tray. A great day was had by all involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7efSeXzr9T4/U2yIWwX35aI/AAAAAAAAAVM/aZsuSGqumCg/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7efSeXzr9T4/U2yIWwX35aI/AAAAAAAAAVM/aZsuSGqumCg/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile Cutting 1 is looking very interesting. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNxbQqr9bQk/U2yIcTHGDsI/AAAAAAAAAVU/kG-zmW_QLuA/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oNxbQqr9bQk/U2yIcTHGDsI/AAAAAAAAAVU/kG-zmW_QLuA/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting 1 following removal of sod</td></tr>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-59677441708787221822014-05-08T00:53:00.003-07:002014-05-08T00:53:55.196-07:00Day Two - Cutting 4 and 5 showing potential<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2 was a wet one. Despite this we are making good
progress. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cutting 4 is looking good and there definitely seems to be a wall
here with collapse either side. Also the soils around this are quite
charcoal-rich so we seem to have come down onto a good occupation level here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mT8nTBTMJxQ/U2s3M5eTx3I/AAAAAAAAAU0/48etabYgXTc/s1600/Cutting+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mT8nTBTMJxQ/U2s3M5eTx3I/AAAAAAAAAU0/48etabYgXTc/s1600/Cutting+4.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cutting 4 following removal of sod</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cutting 5 is producing a good range of finds from the
initial clean back (after the sod was removed). Lots of clay pipe fragments
(probably 17<sup>th</sup> century) are popping up as well as glazed and
un-glazed pottery! Its safe to say that the item in the top left of the finds
tray might be a bit more recent though…</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fG_bdjMBCI/U2s3EmfkLPI/AAAAAAAAAUs/iRMkt9FL8BY/s1600/finds+cutting+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fG_bdjMBCI/U2s3EmfkLPI/AAAAAAAAAUs/iRMkt9FL8BY/s1600/finds+cutting+5.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finds tray from clean back in Cutting 5</td></tr>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-6067266433372108102014-05-07T00:50:00.004-07:002014-05-07T00:50:49.584-07:00First Week on site at Monea Castle<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First day on site and everything is going grand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christina,
Camilla, Marie-Therese and Tony started de-sodding and digging Cuttings 4 and 5
just south of the castle and things are already looking promising!. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUGo9-5kEi4/U2nkS7sKuxI/AAAAAAAAAUU/sI7UKbfdIh0/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUGo9-5kEi4/U2nkS7sKuxI/AAAAAAAAAUU/sI7UKbfdIh0/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We may have
the remnants of a wall in Cutting 4 as suggested in the geophysical survey
while a number of finds have been recovered from the topsoil in Cutting 5
including clay pipe fragments, slag, iron nails, and pottery fragments. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2-WalI7xsDw/U2nkdSAj2NI/AAAAAAAAAUc/KjaPZmTfU8I/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2-WalI7xsDw/U2nkdSAj2NI/AAAAAAAAAUc/KjaPZmTfU8I/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking
forward to more interesting discoveries tomorrow.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-40894007876449160092014-04-08T06:42:00.002-07:002014-04-08T06:42:30.117-07:00Geophysical survey at Monea Castle<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The results of the
geophysical survey are just in for Monea! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joanna Leigh, the geophysical expert
for this project, has identified a number of very interesting below-ground
features in her survey. It looks like there may have been an old path running
from the north-east to the south-west across the area while a number of linear
anomalies just to the south of the castle give the impression that there may be
ruined walls and pits in this area. We are also hoping that a group of strong
responses to the west of the castle are the remains of ruined buildings – there
are lots of stones sticking out of the ground in this particular area!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The proof in the pudding will
be when we start to dig our Cuttings but there certainly seems to be lots to
investigate.</span><b style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pOgoZbsU1k/U0KhiGQwFDI/AAAAAAAAATU/DW_b-7JbD38/s1600/geophs+interpretation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pOgoZbsU1k/U0KhiGQwFDI/AAAAAAAAATU/DW_b-7JbD38/s1600/geophs+interpretation.jpg" height="640" width="508" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Interpretation of geophysical survey results by J.M. Leigh Surveys</i></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FTa27fVoqlM/U0KkaTb_bZI/AAAAAAAAATg/ifaZgRYQMXg/s1600/google+earth+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FTa27fVoqlM/U0KkaTb_bZI/AAAAAAAAATg/ifaZgRYQMXg/s1600/google+earth+2010.jpg" height="340" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Aerial photograph of Monea Castle (Google Earth, April 2010)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-59740561472526526602014-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:002014-03-24T09:52:07.014-07:00Year Three: Monea Castle, Co. Fermanagh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are in the third and final year of the Ulster Scots Archaeological Project and this year we will be investigating Monea Castle in Co. Fermanagh. The castle is located
within the Castletown Demesne lands <i>c</i>.
860m east of Monea village and 9km WNW of Enniskillen.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> It stands at the bottom of a steep hill on a small
plateau above a lake which contains a crannóg (FER 191:062). Excavations in the
late 19th century found the crannóg, ancient site of the Maguires, to be
composed almost entirely of timber. Excavation on the shore of the
site revealed the remains of a conical iron helmet associated with animal bone
and iron slag. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The surrounding landscape has been occupied since the prehistoric period, as indicated by<i> c</i>. 11 burnt mound sites and 8 raths or enclosures within a 1km radius of the castle.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bk3CXQ1CiaM/UzBasa6JaRI/AAAAAAAAASM/1jlIIjiQVEM/s1600/site+location.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bk3CXQ1CiaM/UzBasa6JaRI/AAAAAAAAASM/1jlIIjiQVEM/s1600/site+location.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Site Location - Monea Castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The castle comprises one of the best known and best preserved examples of a plantation era building. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The lands of the proportion of Derrinefogher were granted to Robert
Hamilton by King James in 1610. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Building commenced on the
castle (not the bawn) in 1616 by the Rector of Devenish, the Reverend Malcolm
Hamilton. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPTAJ5atDWk/UzBd5VT-RbI/AAAAAAAAAS4/IFq53yK-Z-w/s1600/castle+facing+north+east.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BPTAJ5atDWk/UzBd5VT-RbI/AAAAAAAAAS4/IFq53yK-Z-w/s1600/castle+facing+north+east.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monea Castle, facing north-east</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">In 1619, the castle was described by Pynnar as "<i>a strong castle of lime and monea castle
stone being 54 feet long and 20 feet broad</i>". The castle is oblong in
plan and three storeys high. From the angle of the west end rise two
semi-cylindrical towers with box-like turrets, both of which have spiral
staircases. The bawn, comprising "<i>a
wall 9 feet in height and 300 feet in circuit</i>" was added in 1622/3.</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">It was noted by Annesley and Perrott in 1622 that
the castle was thatched (SMR record). </span>At
this time it is recorded that a market was held upon the Monday of each week,
in the ‘village of Castleton, in the proportion of Dirrefogher’ (</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Belmore 1895a, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">207).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pgjSjEVN9Wc/UzBd6G1736I/AAAAAAAAASw/ZJzDCvA4ICY/s1600/jope+illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pgjSjEVN9Wc/UzBd6G1736I/AAAAAAAAASw/ZJzDCvA4ICY/s1600/jope+illustration.jpg" height="400" width="357" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plan of the castle (Jope, 1951)</span></td></tr>
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<div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The castle was taken by the
Irish, led by Captain Rory Maguire, during the 1641 Rebellion but was later
reclaimed by planters. Following the hostile takeover of nearby Tully Castle all occupants were ordered to flee to Monea Castle or ‘Iniskellin’
(Belmore 1895b, 258). Monea does not appear to have been badly damaged at this
time.</span></span><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5itU_BXqmKk/UzBd3lhP-EI/AAAAAAAAASs/Zj-TZ90ChG0/s1600/Down+Survey+extract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5itU_BXqmKk/UzBd3lhP-EI/AAAAAAAAASs/Zj-TZ90ChG0/s1600/Down+Survey+extract.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Extract from the Down Survey Map of Magheraboy Barony showing Monea Castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By 1688 the castle became the
residence of Gustav Hamilton (grandson son of Malcolm Hamilton) who by then was the
Governor of Enniskillen and Fermanagh forces (Belmore 1895b, 260).</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Following 1704 Gustav’s eldest
son, William, appears to have sold/granted the Manor of Castletown to Hugh
Montgomery (of Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh) and Robert King (of Lissenhall,
Swords).</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">King appears
to have taken Castletown, (alias Monea), with the house and customs, together
with the fairs and markets (Belmore 1895b, 264).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">King's share of the estate appears to have
descended to his daughter and heiress, Mary, who married William Smyth of the
Drumcree family in Westmeath. Smyth served as High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1736
(<i>ibid</i>., 265). A record in the SMR
states that the castle was burnt in <i>c</i>.
1750.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Belmore (1895b) considered it is likely that
the estate changed hands from the Smyth to the Brien family. John Brien from
Tyrone built a house in the demesne after 1790 (SMR record) and ‘Monea Cottage’
is shown on the first edition OS map <i>c</i>.
400m north of the castle.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8HTVcO2R4pU/UzBdj307A3I/AAAAAAAAASY/TpGgNTsr97I/s1600/First+ed+OS+6+inch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8HTVcO2R4pU/UzBdj307A3I/AAAAAAAAASY/TpGgNTsr97I/s1600/First+ed+OS+6+inch.jpg" height="360" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Extract from the First Edition 6-inch OS map showing Monea Castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A geophysical Survey has been undertaken within the grounds of the scheduled area and the results will be shared in a blog post next week. We hope to undertake a research excavation during May 2014 to investigate the early-mid 17th century tenants settlement associated with the plantation castle. Any updates will be posted here in future weeks.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">References:</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Belmore 1895a Monea Castle, County Fermanagh, and the
Hamiltons. <i>Ulster Journal of Archaeology</i>,
<b>1</b> (3), 195–208.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Belmore 1895b Monea Castle, County Fermanagh,
and the Hamiltons. With Some Notes on the Hume and Cathcart Families
(concluded). <i>Ulster Journal of
Archaeology</i>, <b>1</b> (4), 256–277</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jope, E.M. 1951
Scottish Influences in the North of Ireland: Castles with Scottish Features,
1580-1640. <i>Ulster Journal of Archaeology</i>,
<b>14</b>, 31–47.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-91420192719603002402013-07-01T03:40:00.002-07:002013-07-01T03:41:20.320-07:00Excavation completed at Derrywoone<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well the excavation finished last week and
all that was really left to do on the last day was to pack up the archive and
back fill all the trenches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i6Z6yz8kcqE/UdFcV16umPI/AAAAAAAAARw/EucUET0pIuE/s1600/IMG_0477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i6Z6yz8kcqE/UdFcV16umPI/AAAAAAAAARw/EucUET0pIuE/s400/IMG_0477.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We would like to take this
opportunity to thank all the school children, teachers, volunteers and
interested parties who visited the dig over the past five weeks and made this
project such a success.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We would also like to thank
Baronscourt Estate managers Robert and Matt and the Duke and Duchess of
Abercorn for their hospitality and for kindly granting permission for the
excavation.</span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As post-excavation analyses and research continues we will keep the blog updated with any important findings! </span></div>
Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-58228906999189927342013-06-28T07:44:00.000-07:002013-06-28T07:44:00.222-07:00Year Two - Derrywoone Open Day<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had our on site open day last Saturday 22 June and it was very successful, <span style="font-size: 12pt;">despite the poor
weather conditions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzy1k0Q-u0Q/Uc2gxgVFyPI/AAAAAAAAARk/5DcMoe8Gh-8/s1600/IMG_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzy1k0Q-u0Q/Uc2gxgVFyPI/AAAAAAAAARk/5DcMoe8Gh-8/s400/IMG_0426.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tour of site on Open Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">David and Niamh from </span><i><b>Claíomh </b></i>- Irish Living History & Military Heritage<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> put on an impressive display of </span>weaponry, dress and domestic items of the period. Unfortunately we had to
have this indoors as there were frequent downpours throughout the day. For more information about Claíomh and their work visit their website (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.claiomh.ie/" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">www.claiomh.ie</a>)<span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;"> </span>or their facebook page (</span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ClaiomhLivingHistory" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/ClaiomhLivingHistory</a>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a6ZIFT_1FNk/Uc2gr_EGKtI/AAAAAAAAARY/R6YHqQedPHs/s1600/IMG_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a6ZIFT_1FNk/Uc2gr_EGKtI/AAAAAAAAARY/R6YHqQedPHs/s400/IMG_0423.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David and Niamh from <i>Claíomh</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE;"> </span>Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-11882873188617780782013-06-27T00:48:00.000-07:002013-06-27T00:49:34.042-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our last school group had a special treat – since the trees
were cleared we were able to allow this group into the castle for their tour! They loved it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZT_XHIYnOk/UcvtgATA6pI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/Nj1UcmgzMeU/s1600/IMG_0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZT_XHIYnOk/UcvtgATA6pI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/Nj1UcmgzMeU/s400/IMG_0361.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">School group inside the castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Digging and sieving was the highlight for nearly all the
school visits – at the end of the day everyone just wanted to get mucky..</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wF1xbez-P4/UcvtirbhPZI/AAAAAAAAARA/lfTISbVbUWw/s1600/IMG_0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wF1xbez-P4/UcvtirbhPZI/AAAAAAAAARA/lfTISbVbUWw/s400/IMG_0362.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sieving for finds!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the archaeology front we were able to open a few more
small cuttings around the castle. One of these new cuttings revealed cobbles at the
western end of the castle extending right round to its eastern end. So anyone
approaching the front door of the castle would have walked over a fine cobbled
yard! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9Se9E2YfOw/Ucvtm4-PC2I/AAAAAAAAARI/EPmv9eDogN4/s1600/IMG_0407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9Se9E2YfOw/Ucvtm4-PC2I/AAAAAAAAARI/EPmv9eDogN4/s400/IMG_0407.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cobbled surface outside castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349009268021035529.post-52068118757387632802013-06-24T03:22:00.002-07:002013-06-24T03:22:44.898-07:00Week 4 - excavations within the castle ruins<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trees were cleared from the inside of the
castle and it gives a whole added dimension to the internal area – it looks
even more impressive! – here you can see clearly the fireplaces at each level
of the building. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QKBhfS1I74g/UcgdfXICEFI/AAAAAAAAAQo/xndeUqxL3a8/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QKBhfS1I74g/UcgdfXICEFI/AAAAAAAAAQo/xndeUqxL3a8/s400/IMG_0331.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This picture (below) is certainly proof that the castle
building was roofed with slate – this is a fragment of perforated slate
integrated as part of the wall construction, jammed between the stones!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6upccoCVgI/UcgdeAp9i4I/AAAAAAAAAQk/OQCE8Jk2QX8/s1600/IMG_0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6upccoCVgI/UcgdeAp9i4I/AAAAAAAAAQk/OQCE8Jk2QX8/s400/IMG_0326.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found this curious possible metal object today which has
left us stumped if anyone has any ideas - answers on a post-card (or blog
comment might be better)….;-)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Irish Archaeological Consultancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16708276157667929383noreply@blogger.com2