In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil is joined by Dr Katharina Becker to dig into the story of Rathgall Hillfort and the groundbreaking excavations by Professor Barry Raftery.

Located in the borderlands of County Wicklow and Carlow, Rathgall is one of the most well known of Ireland’s hillforts. The story of this truly monumental site was uncovered by Professor Barry Raftery over the course of a number of seasons of excavations in the late 1960s and 1970s. The digs revealed evidence of high status metalwork, cremation and burial, and how the site has been a place of significance for millennia. Although Professor Raftery published aspects of the site primarily in the 1970s, he sadly passed away before he could finalise a comprehensive account.

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, I had the opportunity to dig into the story of Rathgall with Dr Katharina Becker, the co-author of a fantastic new Wordwell publication A Hillfort Through Time. This new book brings together all of Professor Raftery’s work, and maintains his thoughts and ideas about the site, skilfully augmented and recontextualized with contemporary evidence and theory.

As we chat, Katharina discusses the fascinating archaeological discoveries, and what Rathgall can tell us about Bronze Age Ireland, whether we can still call Rathgall a hillfort, and the incredible legacy of the late Professor Barry Raftery.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by Tuatha, this is our online membership with a growing community of like-minded people who love exploring Ireland’s sites, landscapes and heritage. You can find out more and start your own Irish archaeological adventure at tuatha.ie.

Excavations at Rathgall Hillfort – Key Discussion Points and Show Notes

• Introduction to Rathgall and its context – 1 min 50 secs
• Professor Barry Raftery and his legacy in Irish archaeology – 3 min 05 secs
• Was there much awareness about Rathgall amongst antiquarians? – 6 min 39 secs
• Why did Barry choose to excavate at Rathgall? – 8 min 10 secs
• How did the excavations begin and how were they funded? – 11 min 55 secs
• The seasons at Rathgall – 13 min 30 secs
• Was the plan to do multiple seasons there from the outset? – 16 min 05 secs
• The earliest evidence at Rathgall – 17 min 28 secs
• Bronze Age Rathgall – 18 min 57 secs
• The ramparts – 22 mins 51 secs
• Can we really call Rathgall a hillfort?– 31 mins 21 secs
• Transformation through fire – metalworking and cremation – 32 mins 46 secs
• Metalworking and production – 37 mins 30 secs
• The astonishing gold-mounted glass bead and other items of personal dress – 37 mins 27 secs
• Potential sources of gold for Bronze Age Ireland – 43 mins 07 secs
• The Iron Age – 45 mins 28 secs
• Early Medieval and Medieval Rathgall– 49 mins 30 secs
• What is the significance of Rathgall? – 51 mins 32 secs
• The importance of charcoal and environmental analysis – 57 mins 40 secs
• What was the impetus for the book, and what was the process of working on it like? – 1 hour 1 min

Show notes and links to further information

• I highly recommend the publication, A Hillfort Through Time: Excavations at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow by Barry Raftery and Katharina Becker. You can order it directly from the publisher Wordwell here.
• It appears to be out of print now, but you can still find copies of Barry’s landmark book Pagan Celtic Ireland: The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age circulating out there. The terrible all-encompassing website named after a South American River might have it. But if you can, try your local bookshop or local library first.
• Incidentally if you’d like to see something lovely, you can see an image of the incredible Milmorane Bead here that got a brief mention. It was found as part of a small hoard in a bog in County Cork. It really is special, and it is the only thing close to the gold mounted glass bead found at Rathgall. I always marvel at the intricate skill needed to work at that tiny scale.
• I hope you enjoyed the show, please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out, opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here. And remember to use your coupon code AMPLIFY20 for 20% off.

Ireland’s round towers are one of the most distinctive features of our historic landscapes. But what do we know of these iconic structures, when do they date to, and who built them? In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil is joined by archaeologist Christiaan Corlett to dig into the story.

Ireland’s round towers are some of our most instantly recognisable reminders of our past. If you’ve ever visited the likes of the Rock of Cashel, Glendalough, Clonmacnoise – or even driven down the M8 motorway – you may have marvelled at these soaring structures.

 But when were they built and why? Who commissioned them and how were they constructed? A fantastic new publication provides an insight into these iconic monuments. It’s by archaeologist Christiaan Corlett of the National Monuments Service, who joins Neil to discuss the potential origins, dating, and purpose of our round towers.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by Tuatha, this is our online membership with a growing community of like-minded people who love exploring Ireland’s sites, landscapes and heritage. You can find out more and start your own Irish archaeological adventure at tuatha.ie.

Round Towers – Key Discussion Points and Show Notes

• Introduction to round towers – 1 min 40 secs
• How did people understand round towers across time? – 3 min 20 secs
• Do we know which was the first built in Ireland? – 6 min 50 secs
• Are they regional, are there any significant concentrations? – 11 min 20 secs
• What were the reasons for building them? – 12 min 15 secs
• Patronage, power and influence – 13 min 24 secs
• How many do we have still standing, and how many have been lost? – 19 min 04 secs
• The scarily shallow foundations of round towers! – 21 min 30 secs
• Construction techniques – 24 min 20 secs
• The high doorways – 27 mins 14 secs
• More on the purpose of round towers– 27 mins 55 secs
• The stone masons who constructed round towers – 32 mins 07 secs
• Were round towers rendered? – 38 mins 30 secs
• Decorated doorways and features – 40 mins 51 secs
• Does Chris have a particular favourite? – 46 mins 30 secs
• The restoration of round towers – 48 mins 40 secs
• Recommendations of towers to visit– 51 mins 38 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• I highly recommend picking up a copy of Chris’ book. Not only will it give you a good sense of these monuments, but it is beautifully illustrated with fantastic photographs throughout. You can pick up a copy online from the publisher here.
• And you can find more books, images and other fantastic content from Chris on the Coles Lane Website.
• I hope you enjoyed the show, please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out, opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here. And remember to use your coupon code AMPLIFY20 for 20% off.

Underneath the quiet fields on the headland of Drumanagh in North County Dublin, lies a truly exciting story. This headland is home to one of the most important promontory forts in Ireland, where an innovative community archaeology programme is uncovering connections between Iron Age Ireland and the Roman World. Lead archaeologist Christine Baker tells us all about it in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.

Located between the villages of Loughshinny and Rush in North County Dublin, the headland at Drumanagh is a prominent local landmark that has become a popular place for dog walkers and people seeking a good blast of fresh sea air. Its strategic aspect can clearly be seen in the early 19th century martello tower at the end of the promontory, but sharp-eyed visitors may well have noticed that the headland is underscored by earthworks and a deep ditch. A hint about a deeper, older story that lies beneath the surface. Over the last number of years, the Digging Drumanagh Project has sought to uncover that story. What they have revealed is transformative to our understanding of connections between Iron Age Ireland and the wider Roman world beyond.

Christine Baker is the Heritage Officer for Fingal County Council. Christine has long been a pioneer of community archaeology in Ireland. Along with the Digging Drumanagh, Christine has carried out a number of important public engagement excavations, surveys and projects, including excavations at Swords Castle, Climate Heritage X (that we had the pleasure of helping with). 2025 marks ten years of the Fingal Community Archaeology Programme, which is an incredible achievement. As community and public archaeology is something I am passionate about myself, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Christine about her experiences. I hope you enjoy the episode.

The Digging Drumanagh post-excavation process is ongoing. The archaeological director is Christine Baker, specialists Siobhan Duffy (Artefacts & Zooarchaeology), Alex Croom (Pottery), Prof. Meriel McClatchie (Archaeobotanical remains), Dr. Erin Crowley-Champoux (Molluscs) for sharing their initial findings. The on-site team includes Stephen Johnston, Dr John Sunderland, Dr Penny Johnston, Siobhan Duffy and Máiréad Ní Challanáin, as well as all the fantastic participants of Digging Drumanagh. The scheme is funded by Fingal County Council and supported by the Heritage Council. You can find out more on their website here. The images on this page are courtesy of Fingal County Council and the Digging Drumanagh Project.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by Tuatha, this is our online membership with a growing community of like-minded people who love exploring Ireland’s sites, landscapes and heritage. You can find out more and start your own Irish archaeological adventure at tuatha.ie.

Digging Drumanagh – Key Discussion Points and Show Notes

• Introduction to Drumanagh – location and what it’s like today – 1 min 26 secs
• What are promontory forts? When do they date to? – 4 min 10 secs
• The threat to promontory forts from climate change – 7 min 10 secs
• What was known about Drumanagh before the project? – 8 min 55 secs
• Did the later activity like the martello tower impact the earlier archaeology? – 12 min 40 secs
• What does Drumanagh tell us about connections with Rome? – 13 min 24 secs
• How did the council become involved with Drumanagh? – 15 min 45 secs
• What were the original research questions and objectives for the Drumanagh project? – 18 min 35 secs
• What did the project uncover? – 21 min 05 secs
• The evidence for craft and industry at Drumanagh – 27 mins 20 secs
• The famous fig – 31 mins 30 secs
• The Fingal Community Archaeology Project – 37 mins 10 secs
• The importance of community archaeology – 42 mins 10 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• I highly recommend digging into the Fingal County Council website where you can find excavation reports, videos, information about how to take part and a whole lot more on the Drumanagh project. You can find that here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out, opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.

Irish Hillforts are some of our largest monuments, though until recently they remained relatively enigmatic. In recent years Dr James O’Driscoll has started to uncover their story, he tells us all about it in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.

The name ‘hillfort’ is quite descriptive, as at first glance they appear as well, large forts on top of hills. Though the work of Dr James O’Driscoll and colleagues have revealed that they have a far more interesting and nuanced tale to tell. A programme of survey and excavation carried out by James, Prof. William O’Brien and colleagues discovered much about the nature and chronology of Irish hillforts, along with the types of activities that were carried out within them.

This discussion teases out the question of what is a hillfort, the types of landscape that they can be found in, their period and how that compares with similar monuments in the UK and elsewhere, and what they might tell us about territoriality, trade, culture and landscape in the past.

Dr James O’Driscoll lectures in the University of Glasgow. James’ primary research is focused on the application of remote sensing and GIS based techniques in archaeology, with particular emphasis on prehistoric enclosures and Bronze Age hillforts, their contemporary landscapes and socio-economic setting. James has co-authored two important books on the subject, Hillforts, Warfare and Society in Bronze Age Ireland, and the recently published Baltinglass and the Prehistoric Hillforts of Ireland. 

Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by Tuatha, an online membership with a growing community of like-minded people who love exploring Ireland’s sites, landscapes and heritage. You can find out more and start your own Irish archaeological adventure at tuatha.ie.

Irish Hillforts – Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to Irish Hillforts – 1 min
• Where can you find hillforts? – 7 min 47 secs
• Their association with political boundaries – 10 min 05 secs
• What drew James to study hillforts – 15 min 25 secs
• The study of hillforts that led to the publication of Hillforts, Warfare and Society – 18 min 20 secs
• Neolithic hillforts – 24 min 14 secs
• Introduction to the Baltinglass Complex – 28 min 50 secs
• Why is the Baltinglass area so special? – 36 min 50 secs
• Upland interactions and the use of hillforts – 40 min 20 secs
• The inland promontory fort of Caherconree – 53 mins 27 secs
• What should people picture when they are thinking of a hillfort – 1 hour 2 mins
• What hillforts are good to visit? – 1 hour 4 mins

Show notes and links to further information

• I highly recommend Baltinglass and the Prehistoric Hillforts of Ireland by James O’Driscoll, Alan Hawkes & William O’Brien, published by Wordwell. You can order online here.
• And James’s earlier book Hillforts, Warfare and Society in Bronze Age Ireland is available from Archaeopress here.
• You can find a number of papers by James on Academia.edu here.
• You can read more on the history and visitor experience at the Grianán of Aileach here.
• You can read more on the history and visitor experience at Rathmichael Hillfort here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out, opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.

A wonderful community archaeology project has been underway at St Anne’s Park in Dublin City. Excavation director James Kyle tells us all about it in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.

An elegant historic house, once owned by the famous Guinness Family, proudly stood in part of what is now known as St Anne’s Park. The building was destroyed by fire in the 1940s, before being completely demolished in the 1960s. However, a dynamic community archaeology project has been underway to help to uncover its story. The dig includes members of the local community who work alongside experienced archaeologists. The preservation of in-situ architectural features and deposits relating to the occupation, fire and demolition of the structure ensures the opportunity for volunteers to engage with tangible archaeological material as well as assess the phases of the structural development and ultimate demise of the house.

Now in its fourth year, the Saint Anne’s Park Community Archaeology Programme was launched in 2021 as a partnership project under the Dublin City Strategic Heritage Plan. It is a collaboration between DCC Parks Biodiversity and Landscape Services and the Archaeology and Heritage Sections of the Planning and Property Development Department. The programme is partially funded by the Heritage Council and the Creative Ireland Programme, and has been delivered by Archaeology and Built Heritage Ltd, with the support of a fantastic group of community volunteers.

The archaeological director James Kyle leads us through the story of the lost house, as we discuss the practice of community archaeology, wellbeing in heritage and more. So let’s dig into the story of community archaeology in St Anne’s Park in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast!

(all images courtesy of Archaeology and Built Heritage Ltd)

Community Archaeology at St Anne’s Park – Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to St Anne’s Park and the project – 1 min 22 secs
• What could be seen of the house prior to excavation? – 5 min 20 secs
• How did surviving documents and maps help the dig? – 9 min 20 secs
• The dig throw up any surprises? – 10 min 01 secs
• Has the dig changed people’s perception of the park? – 14 min 45 secs
• Public interest in archaeology – 16 min 20 secs
• The tangibility of early modern archaeology – 19 min 15 secs
• The community involvement in the excavation – 21 min 06 secs
• What do we mean by the ‘community’ in community archaeology, who was involved? – 26 min 20 secs
• Archaeology and wellbeing – 28 mins 22 secs
• How can we make archaeology more inclusive and engaging for the public? – 34 min 30 secs
• Has the project changed people’s perceptions of place? – 34 min 24 secs
• What’s the future of the project? – 41 min 45 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find information on the St Anne’s Park Community Archaeology Project on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
• You can also find a short video on the project on YouTube.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses like an Introduction to Irish Archaeology with Neil Jackman, another giving you the skills to dig into your own family history with an Introduction to Irish Genealogy with Tara Clarke, and examine the pivotal era of Early Medieval Ireland with Dr Sharon Greene. You’ll also find hundreds of articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out, opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here. Use coupon code AMPLIFY20 for 20% off your first subscription.

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Neil chats with Dr Kerri Cleary about Professor George Eogan’s excavations at Knowth.

There are few places as deeply layered in stories as Knowth. Located in the famous bend of the Boyne like its near neighbour Newgrange, Knowth has been a place of significance for millennia. Through the Neolithic as a place of settlement and ritual, an Iron Age ancestral burial ground, an early medieval ‘royal’ residence of the kings of North Brega, and activity continued through the medieval period and onwards. Today Knowth is part of the celebrated Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, and visited by thousands of people every year. Its complex story was uncovered in a truly monumental series of excavations led by the late Professor George Eogan. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil chats with Dr Kerri Cleary who discusses those excavations and George’s incredible legacy in Irish archaeology, and describes the story of Knowth through time. Kerri is the co-author of a fantastic new guidebook to Knowth published by the Royal Irish Academy, that provides a wonderfully accessible introduction to this incredible archaeological complex.

The images here are all courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy.

Excavations at Knowth – Key Discussion Points

• What and where is Knowth? – 2 min 14 secs
• Professor George Eogan – 5 min 40 secs
• Kerri’s links with Knowth – 9 min 05 secs
• What was Knowth like before George started work? – 11 min 04 secs
• What was the background to the excavation? – 14 min 40 secs
• The experience of the excavation– 18 min 18 secs
• The excavations at Knowth and Newgrange overlap, did they influence each other? – 21 min 55 secs
• The chronology of Knowth, beginning with its earliest origins – 25 min 30 secs
• The megalithic art at Knowth – 34 min 03 secs
• Knowth in the Bronze Age – 40 min 12 secs
• Knowth in the Iron Age – 44 min 15 secs
• Knowth in the Early Medieval Period – 48 min 39 secs
• The Mythology of Knowth – 52 min 40 secs
• Knowth as part of the World Heritage Site – 57 min 20 secs
• Knowth as part of the World Heritage Site – 57 min 20 secs
• The Guidebook to Knowth – 1 hour 04 min 17 secs
• The Knowth Macehead – 1 hour 09 min 41 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can pick up a copy of the brilliant new guidebook from the Royal Irish Academy here.
• And you can enjoy a deep dive into the details of the excavations at Knowth in the seven volume series now available Open Access on the Digital Repository of Ireland here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode on social media using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including one on the Boyne Valley featuring Knowth), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here, and don’t forget to use the coupon code AMPLIFY20, to get 20% off your first subscription.
• You can also purchase a gift membership to Tuatha, so if you have an archaeology aficionado in your life, or someone who loves going exploring Ireland’s ancient monuments, consider making the past their present. You can find monthly or annual vouchers here (and the coupon code works there too!).

This is the second part of an in-depth discussion with Professor Gabriel Cooney on his landmark publication – Death in Irish Prehistory.

The new publication Death in Irish Prehistory covers life and death over 8,500 years in Ireland. The book explores the richness of the mortuary record that we have for Irish prehistory (8000 BC to AD 500) as a highlight of the archaeological record for that long period of time. Because we are dealing with how people coped with death, this rich and diverse record of mortuary practice is also relevant to understanding how we deal with death today, which is just as central a social issue as it always was. Written by Professor Gabriel Cooney, and beautifully illustrated by Conor McHale, the book is a landmark publication for Irish archaeology. It is thoughtful, insightful and beautifully produced, and helps to humanise those who walked before us, some millennia ago.

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil has an in depth discussion with the author of Death in Irish Prehistory, Professor Gabriel Cooney. In this second and final part, we take a chronological approach and look at continuity, change and belief over 8,500 years. If you haven’t heard the first part, you can find that here.

With the exception of the banner that features an aerial image of a tomb at Carrowkeel, the images here are all courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy.

Death in Irish Prehistory Part 2 – Key Discussion Points

• Death in the Mesolithic Period – 1 min 55 secs
• Death in the Neolithic Period – 12 min 03 secs
• Death in the Chalcolithic Period – 23 min 34 secs
• Death in the Bronze Age – 29 min 00 secs
• Death in the Iron Age – 51 min 02 secs
• People’s connection to prehistoric mortuary sites today – 1 hour 8 min 18 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• If you didn’t hear the first part, I recommend checking that out here.
• Again I can’t recommend the book highly enough! You can purchase a copy here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit (including lots of the sites discussed in this podcast), itineraries for great days out (including one on the Boyne Valley featuring a number of the megalithic tombs discussed here), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.
• You can now purchase a gift membership to Tuatha, so if you have an archaeology aficionado in your life, or someone who loves going exploring Ireland’s ancient monuments, consider making the past their present. You can find monthly or annual vouchers here.

This is the first part of an in-depth discussion with Professor Gabriel Cooney on his landmark publication – Death in Irish Prehistory.

The new publication Death in Irish Prehistory covers life and death over 8,500 years in Ireland. The book explores the richness of the mortuary record that we have for Irish prehistory (8000 BC to AD 500) as a highlight of the archaeological record for that long period of time. Because we are dealing with how people coped with death, this rich and diverse record of mortuary practice is also relevant to understanding how we deal with death today, which is just as central a social issue as it always was. Written by Professor Gabriel Cooney, and beautifully illustrated by Conor McHale, the book is a landmark publication for Irish archaeology. It is thoughtful, insightful and beautifully produced, and helps to humanise those who walked before us, some millennia ago.

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil has an in depth discussion with the author of Death in Irish Prehistory, Professor Gabriel Cooney. In this part, we discuss the archaeology of death, and how we know what we know. And what the types of evidence can reveal about life, death and belief in prehistoric Ireland. Don’t forget to join us for part two, where we take a chronological approach and look at continuity, change and belief over 8500 years. You can find Part Two of the discussion here.

With the exception of the banner that features an aerial image of Fourknocks Passage Tomb, the images here are all courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy.

Death in Irish Prehistory Part 1 – Key Discussion Points

• A chat about cultural relativism – 2 min 30 secs
• The impetus behind the book and the way that it is structured – 9 min 30 secs
• What can archaeology tell us about life and death – 13 min 34 secs
• How to be an objective observer as an archaeologist – 17 min 35 secs
• While archaeology can tell us about practice what can it tell us of belief? – 19 min 40 secs
• The development of archaeological practice and theory in relation to prehistoric mortuary sites – 29 min 55 secs
• Do we have better evidence for some periods than others? – 37 min 06 secs
• Is there a danger of selection bias when it comes to the circumstances and type of sites excavated? – 40 min 05 secs
• Is there an inherit bias in terms of who was buried and how? Includes discussion of survival bias – 45 min 03 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find Part Two of the discussion here.
• I can’t recommend the book highly enough! You can purchase a copy here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including one on the Boyne Valley featuring a number of the megalithic tombs discussed here), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.
• You can now purchase a gift membership to Tuatha, so if you have an archaeology aficionado in your life, or someone who loves going exploring Ireland’s ancient monuments, consider making the past their present. You can find monthly or annual vouchers here.

In this fascinating discussion with Tommy Burke and Dr Ryan Lash we discuss aspects of pilgrimage, faith and folklore on Inishbofin and Inishark.

The islands of Inishbofin and Inishark lie off the western coast of County Galway. They are beautiful places, though the breathtaking scenery is imbued with many stories. One of the most celebrated stories of Inishbofin is its connection to the famous St Colmán of Lindisfarne, who established a monastery here in the seventh century. Inishark is connected to the more enigmatic St Leo, and both islands have a long tradition of pilgrimage that centres around the early monastic remains found there. Though they may have began in the early medieval period, these pilgrimage traditions have adapted over the centuries, right up to the twentieth century, creating a blend of continuity and change with each generation of islanders.

This discussion with Tommy Burke and Dr Ryan Lash, looks at some of the key features of the pilgrimage landscape of the islands, and we hear about the discoveries of the research excavations that have taken place in recent years. We discuss holy wells and their origins, and folk belief around cures and curses. We also hear about the skulls taken in the 19th century from St Colmán’s Monastery, and the efforts by the local community and others in helping to secure their return after more than a century. From cures, curses, wells and wonders, this is a wide ranging chat, I hope you enjoy the episode!

Island Pilgrimage – Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to Inishbofin and Inishark – 2 min 13 secs
• Overview of early medieval Christian aspects of the islands – 8 min 20 secs
• Pilgrimage and Turas – 13 min 09 secs
• Holy wells – 17 min 42 secs
• Cures – 22 min 18 secs
• Do Ireland’s holy wells have pagan origins? – 23 min 23 secs
• Curses – 31 min 07 secs
• The practice of pilgrimage – 37 min 38 secs
• The response of the Catholic Church to pattern days and ‘informal’ pilgrimage – 42 min 15 secs
• Island faith and practice in the absence of a priest – 49 mins 55 secs
• The Haddon Project and the repatriation of human remains – 58 min
• Sites at risk through climate change – 1 hour 14 min
• Where can people find out more? – 1 hour 16 mins

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find information on Tommy’s walking tours, including contact info for booking here.
• Tommy did a really interesting interview about Inishbofin during the Covid Lockdowns, available on YouTube.
• You can find a number of papers by Ryan on Academia.edu here.
• And he has a recorded talk that covers a broad sweep of the research on Inishbofin and Inishark available here.
• And there’s a new publication featuring a paper by Ryan: Holy Wells of Ireland: Sacred Realms and Popular Domains, available here.
• I highly recommend checking out Inis Airc: Bás Oileáin – Inishark: Death of an Island. A 2007 TG4 documentary about the abandonment of Inishark directed by Inishbofin film maker Kieran Concannon. You can find it here.
• And there’s a YouTube channel with short videos about Inishbofin and Inishark heritage available here.
• We highly recommend you follow the Facebook page for the Inishbofin Heritage Museum.
• A report by SkyNews that documented the reburial can be found here.
• And an article about the repatriation campaign here.
• You can read more on the visitor experience to Inishbofin here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including one on Connemara), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.

In this fascinating discussion with Dr Michelle Comber, we discuss the excavations, the wealth of archaeology in the Burren, and generational continuity at Caherconnell Fort. We also hear from some of the excavation team who tell us of their experiences.

The Burren is one of my favourite places. It’s somewhat stark and bleak appearance gives a false impression of a barren landscape, when it is anything but. The valleys and high pastures of the Burren are thronged with archaeological monuments, representing millennia of settlement from the earliest phases of prehistory to the present day. This teeming historic landscape has remained relatively unaltered in comparison to other parts of Ireland. This offers wonderful opportunities to understand the monuments themselves, as well as their local landscapes, providing a contextual and cultural understanding of people and place.

There are few better examples of this sort of study than the ongoing series of excavations at Caherconnell Fort in the heart of the Burren. The site has been investigated through a number of field schools led by Dr. Michelle Comber of the University of Galway. The townland of Caherconnell is dominated by one of the largest stone forts in the Burren, and as well as the main fort there are two smaller ones, and a number of other archaeological monuments and features ranging in date from the prehistoric to the late medieval.

In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had the opportunity to chat with Michelle to hear about the site itself, the field school and the fantastic collaborative and mutually beneficial model where archaeology, farming and tourism all benefit from a better understanding and appreciation of place. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Excavations at Caherconnell Fort – Key Discussion Points

• Why is the Burren so archaeologically rich? – 1 min 33 secs
• An introduction to the Caherconnell Project – 5 min 52 secs
• What is Caherconnell Fort and was it in use for a long time? – 10 min 00 secs
• The nature of the culture of the people of Caherconnell – 18 min 47 secs
• The relationship between the three stone forts of Caherconnell – 21 min 12 secs
• What did the people of Caherconnell in the early medieval period think about neighbouring monuments like Poulnabrone? – 26 min 15 secs
• Folklore and belief in the past – 28 min 40 secs
• The field school – 31 min 42 secs
• Visitors witnessing the process and history uncovered before their eyes – 37 min 01 secs
• The research framework and agenda – 39 mins 05 secs
• The future for Caherconnell and the tourism aspect of the site – 42 min 20 secs
• The positive connections between archaeology, education, tourism and landowners – 44 min 47 secs
• Field School participant Amelia Gibson – 46 mins 35 secs
• Field School participant Spencer Cantham – 47 min 13 secs
• Field School participant Jenny Sacher – 48 mins 21 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can discover more about visiting Caherconnell Fort here.
• You can learn more about the archaeological project at Caherconnell Fort here.
• And there’s even more to dig into (sorry for the pun) here.
• Keep up with the latest discoveries at Caherconnell by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including three on the Burren alone!), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.

In previous episodes of Amplify Archaeology, we’ve focused on what life was like for people, but what was life like for animals in the past? In this episode we’re joined by Dr Ruth Carden and Dr Rebecca Boyd, who tell us about an exciting new collaborative research project seeks to dig into the story of Viking dogs.

In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil was joined by Dr Ruth Carden and Dr Rebecca Boyd, who discussed their fascinating new project Viking Dublin Dogs. This collaborative, grass-roots project seeks to discover more about the life and death of Viking and Medieval Dogs in Dublin and beyond. It involves exploring the historical records for references to dogs and wolves, and the examination of the skeletal remains of dogs, radiocarbon dating, isotopic analysis and a study of their DNA. The team hope that this work will help to answer questions about the origins of dogs and their relationship with wolves, whether dogs can tell us anything about status and society, the different type of roles that dogs performed, and whether the Vikings who settled in Dublin brought their own dogs with them from their Scandinavian homelands.

This is a really exciting project, so listen in to discover how you can help to discover the story of Dublin’s viking dogs. I hope you enjoy the episode!

(all pictures below are of our barkaeologist Peig)

Viking Dogs Show notes and links to further information

• You can discover more about the Viking Dublin Dogs Project here.
• And you can support them by visiting their dedicated CrowdFunder page here.
• Keep up with the latest news from the project on Twitter.
• If you’d like to hear more about Viking Ireland, check out this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast with Rebecca here.
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the hashtag #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. Online courses, inspiration for places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here, and don’t forget to enter the coupon code AMPLIFY (all uppercase) for 20% off your first subscription.
• And if you’d like to keep up with all our latest news, do sign up for our free newsletter.

In this episode, one of Ireland’s most experienced archaeologists, Con Manning, discusses the excavations at Clogh Oughter Castle. An island fortress in County Cavan.

Clogh Oughter Castle consists of a strong, circular stone tower strategically (and beautifully) positioned on a small island in the middle of Lough Oughter in County Cavan. The castle was originally constructed in the early 13th century, possibly on the site of an earlier crannóg. Throughout its turbulent history Clogh Oughter Castle has served different roles, from the guardian of the South Ulster lakelands, to a prison. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast we chat to Con Manning who carried out excavations at the castle in the 1980s. Con is one of Ireland’s most experienced archaeologists. In his 40+ years with the National Monuments Service, he has been involved in excavations and publications on some of Ireland’s most important archaeological monuments. Con discusses a little of his background, before we turn to the history of Clogh Oughter Castle, ending with the brutal siege of the 17th century. We’ll discuss the dig, why it took place and hear about some of the key findings and how they tell a story of life and death at the castle over the centuries.

Clogh Oughter Castle, Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 36 – Show Notes

• Con is the lead author of Clogh Oughter Castle, Co. Cavan: Archaeology, History and Architecture. It’s a really fantastic publication with lots of fantastic detail and images. You can find it on the Wordwell website here.
• You can also learn more about the site and see an exhibition in the brilliant Cavan County Museum.
• Members of Tuatha can learn more about the site and how to visit in our article here.
• Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by our membership subscription service: Tuatha. Our members enjoy exclusive articles on archaeology sites to visit, online courses in Irish archaeology and heritage, online talks by experts, tours and get-togethers, as well as itineraries full of fascinating archaeology to make for great roadtrips. We currently have both monthly and annual subscriptions available. Join today at tuatha.ie.
• And if you’d like to keep up with the latest news about Amplify Archaeology and our work, do consider subscribing to our free newsletter.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast

Thank you for listening to this episode, and we have lots more to come this year! Please subscribe to Amplify Archaeology Podcast on your favourite platform. If you leave us a review it can really help us to be found, and we’d be very grateful if you’d consider sharing the podcast.

Join us for this special archival edition of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, to hear the story of the Newgrange Solstice with Dr Jessica Smyth, Professor Gabriel Cooney, Clare Tuffy, Dr Robert Hensey and Professor Muiris O’Sullivan.

At this time of the year, as the Winter Solstice approaches, many people think of Newgrange and its solstice alignment. Newgrange is a world heritage site, a 5,000 year old passage tomb on the banks of the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. Each year people gather around the tomb in celebration, while the lucky few lottery winners get to go inside to experience a truly magical event. As when the skies are clear at dawn, a golden beam of sunlight travels up the ancient passageway to illuminate the chamber.

Back in December 2020, a winter of covid restrictions and lockdowns all of those wonderful celebrations were cancelled. So I had the idea to try to tell the story of Newgrange and the experience of the solstice by interviewing the people who know the site best. We made a 5 part miniseries, each episode released in the days coming up to the solstice, featuring experts like Dr Jessica Smyth, Professor Gabriel Cooney, Dr Robert Hensey, Professor Muiris O’Sullivan, and Clare Tuffy who has experienced 30 years of solstices at Newgrange in her work for the OPW. 

This podcast takes clips from those episodes to give an overview of the significance of the Newgrange Solstice, and what it might all mean. But I do recommend digging into the individual episodes as this only just scratches the surface of a truly fascinating subject.

The Winter Solstice at Newgrange Podcast Miniseries by Amplify Archaeology

This episode features snippets from the five part series on Newgrange and the Winter Solstice.

• Professor Muiris O’Sullivan featured in Part 1.
• Dr. Jessica Smyth featured in Part 2.
• Clare Tuffy featured in Part 3.
• Dr. Robert Hensey featured in Part 4.
• Professor Gabriel Cooney featured in Part 5.

So do be sure to catch those when you can. I’d just like to thank Gabriel, Jessica, Clare, Robert and Muiris for taking the time to talk with me. I’d also like to thank my colleague Ruth Fitzpatrick for editing this podcast. And I especially want to thank all of you for joining me on Amplify Archaeology Podcast. We have some brilliant guests already lined up for 2023, so do make sure you’re subscribed and if the Christmas spirit is upon you, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify in particular. It really helps us to be found.

If you fancy getting yourself a nice Christmas present, consider joining our membership service Tuatha! Our members enjoy exclusive articles and itineraries to help them to explore, online courses events and much more – everything that anyone interested in Irish archaeology could want! We have monthly and annual options, you can learn more and sign up here.

• The beautiful image of light entering the chamber used as the header and in the gallery of this page is courtesy of Brian Morrison, Fáilte Ireland
• The Winter Solstice at Newgrange was live streamed back in 2020 (though there are sadly no plans to do so this year). You can watch 2020 back here (the first day was the best, though all three days were wonderful thanks to the narration of Clare Tuffy and Dr. Frank Prendergast).
• For details on the opening times and more information on the Visitor Centre at the Brú na Bóinne please see the OPW website.

Moynagh Lough is hidden away in a quiet hollow in the drumlin landscape near the village of Nobber in County Meath. From the late 19th century, hints began to emerge of it being a place of importance, but it wasn’t until the late 1970s, 80s and 90s, that the scale and complexity of Moynagh Lough came to light. Now a new project picks up the threads, to weave together the wealth of information that the site can tell us about Ireland’s past. Dr Michael Potterton joins us for a fascinating discussion about what it all might mean.

In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had the opportunity to chat with Dr Michael Potterton of Maynooth University. Michael’s core field of research is the history and archaeology of medieval Ireland, with special reference to landscape and settlement. From 1996 to 1998 Michael was the Assistant Director on the excavations at Moynagh Lough.

Moynagh Lough is one of those sites that looms large in the mind of many in Irish archaeology. The first indications that it was a place of significance came in the late-19th century, when a local farmer, inspired by William Wood-Martin’s seminal writings on Lake Dwellings of Ireland, recognised some similar features in a small peninsula known locally as ‘The Island’, that was set in a little lake where he liked to fish. He recovered items like a grinding stone, a flint knife, a piece of a jet bracelet, and an ogham-inscribed piece of antler. He sent them to Wood-Martin, who identified the site as a crannóg. He was given a grant from the Royal Irish Academy to investigate the monument. However the project was short-lived and Moynagh Lough was forgotten again for nearly a century.

In the 1970s, it reemerged into the light, when a farmer who was seeking to level the small bumpy area at the edge of his field. As he spread the disturbed soil across the field, a large quantity of bone, quern stones and other clearly archaeological objects appeared. The local archaeologist, the late George Eogan, was called in and immediately identified it as a highly significant monument. As Professor Eogan was already excavating the great tomb at Knowth at the time, and as he believed the site to have been largely destroyed already, he had his assistant, a young archaeologist by the name of John Bradley, to lead what was expected to be a short rescue and recovery project. Much more of the crannóg had survived than was originally thought. Between 1980 and 1998, fourteen seasons of excavation confirmed that this was an exceptional multi-period site with rich artefactual assemblages from multiple levels and phases.

Over the years, John produced a number of reports and published several articles about the findings at Moynagh Lough, but the main excavation report remains incomplete and unpublished. When John moved to Maynooth University from UCD in 1996 the Moynagh archive moved with him. After John Bradley’s sudden passing in 2014, a collaborative project led by Michael was formed to review the archive and to take Moynagh Lough through to publication. This was especially fitting, as Michael was a volunteer, then a supervisor and finally Assistant Director of the excavations in the 1990s.

In this discussion Michael tells us of the incredible multi-phase archaeology of Moynagh Lough from the Late Mesolithic to the early medieval period, and how this collaborative project seeks to bring the equally multi-phase project to completion. It is an in-depth chat, that highlights the amazing legacy of John Bradley, George Eogan and Heather King, who all played such an important role at Moynagh Lough. It also reinforces the importance of reappraising past excavations and the wealth of information that are contained within archives, and how multi-disciplinary, collaborative efforts can bring new techniques to shed light on past projects. And more than anything else, the discussion asks the critical question:

What does it all mean?

Moynagh Lough – Key Discussion Points

• Where and what is Moynagh Lough – 2 min 15 secs
• How Moynagh Lough was first discovered – 3 min 30 secs
• The rediscovery of Moynagh Lough – 6 min 35 secs
• The development of the project in the 1980s–1990s – 11 min 30 secs
• The legacy of John Bradley and Michael’s experience working at Moynagh Lough – 15 min 10 secs
• The chronology of the site – 23 min 25 secs
• A discussion on crannógs – 31 min 07 secs
• What sort of activity took place at the crannóg of Moynagh Lough – 36 min 32 secs
• Do historical sources point toward who may have been living at Moynagh Lough? – 41 min 20 secs
• The final excavation and how the new legacy project began – 43 mins 52 secs
• What sort of specialist analysis is involved in this phase? – 48 min 42 secs
• Does Michael have a particular favourite moment from his experience on the site? – 59 min 23 secs
• Based on the evidence so far, what can Moynagh Lough tell us about life in Early Medieval Ireland? – 1 hour 3 mins 00 secs
• What is the future for Moynagh Lough? – 1 hour 8 min 15 secs
• Could there ever be more excavations at Moynagh Lough? – 1 hour 11 min 10 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can see a fantastic illustrated talk by Michael for the Royal Society of Antiquaries here.
• Michael is a prolific writer on Ireland. I highly recommend his books like Uncovering Medieval Trim, and his co-edited chronological series with Christiaan Corlett that showcases what recent excavations can tell us about some of they key periods in Irish Archaeology. Like The Town in Medieval Ireland: In Light of Recent Archaeological Excavations. You can find a full list of his publications here
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. Tuatha connects people to the places, landscapes and stories of Ireland with exclusive content like our full catalogue of articles, courses and itineraries. With Tuatha, you’ll receive behind the scenes access to the latest in Irish archaeological and historical research. Find our more here.
• You can also sign up for our free email newsletter – Monument Monday! Every Monday we send out a mail featuring one of Ireland’s wonderful heritage sites. Guarantee yourself at least one nice mail every Monday morning by signing up here.

In this episode, Neil travels to one of Ireland’s most significant archaeological landscapes, Rathcroghan, to discover an important and innovative project that is helping farmers to protect the archaeology on their land.

In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had the opportunity to visit the great royal site of Rathcroghan in County Roscommon to chat with Dr Daniel Curley who tells us all about his experience managing Rathcroghan Visitor Centre and how they engage people with the complex story of Rathcroghan’s archaeological and mythological landscapes. We also discuss the important Farming Rathcroghan EIP project with Dr Petra Kock Appelgren. The project seeks to manage the Rathcroghan farming landscape in a sustainable way with a focus on the delivery of good archaeological condition. While local farmer and project participant Gerard Healy tells us of his experiences and how the project has been transformative for him.

The project is recorded in the shadow of the great mound at Rathcroghan, so there may be a little ambient noise from time to time. It’s not the wind, just the ghost of Queen Medb trying to get in for a chat. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Farming Rathcroghan – Key Discussion Points

• Daniel introduces Rathcroghan and why it is such an important place – 0 min 52 secs
• Daniel tells us about the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre – 2 min 31 secs
• Daniel discusses the balance between archaeology and mythology at a place like Rathcroghan – 4 min 00 secs
• Daniel tells us about the Community Archaeology Conferences held at Rathcroghan – 6 min 57 secs
• Daniel explains how new research and discoveries are incorporated into the Visitor Centre – 9 min 37 secs
• Daniel discusses how COVID and the cost of living crisis has affected the Visitor Centre – 12 min 08 secs
• Daniel describes what he’d like to see for the future for Rathcroghan – 14 min 24 secs
• Daniel explains how visitors can enjoy Rathcroghan today – 16 min 34 secs
• Petra introduces the Farming Rathcroghan EIP Project – 19 min 38 secs
• Petra discusses the interest from farmers in the scheme – 23 mins 04 secs
• Petra outlines the benefits for the farmers – 23 min 57 secs
• Petra discusses the main challenges and threats posed to archaeology by farming – 26 min 09 secs
• Petra suggests what she’d like to see for the future of the project – 28 mins 16 secs
• Gerard describes his background and relationship to the land – 29 min 44 secs
• Gerard discusses the type of farming in the Rathcroghan landscape – 30 mins 20 secs
• Gerard tells us of the local stories about the monuments – 30 min 50 secs
• Gerard describes how the closure of local schools and the planning pressures have impacted people’s relationship with the landscape – 31 min 45 secs
• Gerard tells us about the conflict between archaeology and farming – 33 min 02 secs
• Gerard describes his experience with Farming Rathcroghan EIP and how it has led to better outcomes all round – 34 min 16 secs
• Gerard discusses the positivity brought by the project – 37 min 02 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• Farming Rathcroghan is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. You can discover more about the Farming Rathcroghan EIP on their dedicated website here.
• If you’d like to explore Rathcroghan be sure to visit their website first here.
• You can find a virtual tour of the landscape there, it’s well worth exploring here!
• The Rathcroghan Community Archaeology Conference 2022: Above and Below is on in November. Book your ticket here.
• They also have a great shop full of very tempting books, with the proceeds going towards supporting the Visitor Centre. Shop here.
• If you enjoyed this episode you might also like the episode at Beaubec where we visited the ongoing excavations there, it included discussions with the landowners who also described their relationship with archaeology. You’ll find that here.
• Please do take a moment to rate or review us on your favourite podcast platforms, it helps us to be found and it lets me know that people enjoy the show.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. Online courses, places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here.

Fadó fadó. Once upon a time…. all the best stories start like that. But how do you go about weaving together a compelling narrative with historical and archaeological evidence? In this episode Neil is joined by Paul Duffy to discuss archaeological storytelling.

One of the most important and rewarding aspects of our work at Abarta Heritage is to try to tell the story of Ireland’s past in accessible and exciting ways, and in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, I had the opportunity to talk with a real master at this – Paul Duffy.

Paul is an experienced archaeologist and has directed numerous landmark excavations in Dublin as well as leading projects in Australia, France and the United Kingdom. He has published and lectured widely on this work, and his books include From Carrickfergus to Carcassonne—the Epic Deeds of Hugh de Lacy
during the Cathar Crusade (2018) and Ireland and the Crusades (2021). Paul has brought all of his insights and understandings of medieval Ireland to bear in his compelling new book Run with the Hare, Hunt with the Hound.

The book begins on a remote Gaelic farmstead in medieval Ireland, when word reaches Alberic of conquering Norman knights arriving from England. Oppressed by the social order that enslaved his Norman father, he yearns for the reckoning he believes the invaders will bring—but his world is about to burn. Captured by the Norman knight Hugo de Lacy and installed at Dublin Castle as a translator, Alberic’s confused loyalties are tested at every turn. When de Lacy marches inland, Alberic is set on a collision course with his former masters amidst rumours of a great Gaelic army rising in the west. Can Alberic navigate safely through revenge, lust and betrayal to find his place amidst the birth of a kingdom in a land of war?

Paul and I have a wide-ranging discussion that flows from the latest archaeological discoveries in Dublin to how to develop a character-driven story that balances evidence and narrative. I hope you enjoy the episode!

* as usual, this episode was recorded over Zoom, so please forgive any little audio wobbles.

Archaeological Storytelling – Key Discussion Points

• Paul’s view of Dublin based on his experience excavating around the city – 1 min 18 secs
• How has our perspective of Dublin’s medieval past changed through the recent excavations? – 3 min 12 secs
• Pre-Viking Dublin and the early settlement – 9 min 00 secs
• Using archaeological and historical evidence to inform a fictional narrative – 12 min 24 secs
• Why did Paul choose to set his story in the late 12th century? – 19 min 00 secs
• How much can you trust primary sources like Giraldus Cambrensis or draw influence from their style? – 21 min 48 secs
• Paul’s choice to centre his story on a slave rather than a warlord or elite member of society – 26 min 24 secs
• The balance and dance between complete accuracy and storytelling – 33 min 00 secs
• Will Alberic’s story continue? – 37 min 33 secs
• The importance of archaeological storytelling – 38 mins 51 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find Paul’s website here.
• I can’t recommend his book Run with the Hare, Hunt with the Hound highly enough, it really helps you to picture what life was like in the tumultuous days of the Norman invasion. You can read a short review here.
• If you’re in the US you can preorder a copy direct from the publisher Cynren Press.
• If you’re in Ireland (or the UK or the rest of Europe) you can preorder from Book Depository.
• Paul also has another book out this month – as he is co-author of Ireland and the Crusades.
• Some of the images on this episode page feature the great Dave Swift of Claoimh. Check out Dave’s fantastic work here.
• At Abarta we’ve also tried our hand at writing fictional accounts based on archaeological evidence. Most relevant to this is our audiobook Meitheal, a series of interwoven tales from early medieval Ireland. You can hear that free here.
• Or our audiobook The Unsilent Stones where you can meet the residents of Athlone’s Abbey Graveyard. From 8th century kings to tavern keepers. You can find that here.
• Paul recently gave a great lecture as part of our Tuatha Talk webinar series. Our members can watch that back here.
• If you’d like to delve deeper into the stories of Ireland, with articles on places to visit, itineraries for days out, online courses and more – you might enjoy joining Tuatha. You can find us here.

The archaeological study of insects, or archaeoentomology, can provide vital evidence about past environments, food, health and living conditions.

Though our homes today has become somewhat sanitised relative to the past, we still share our lives with other species, especially insects. Archaeoentomology is the study of insect remains on sites of archaeological interest. The analysis of insects from archaeological contexts can be an important lens with which to view the past. The can reveal big picture questions about the local environment. They can tell us about trade and agriculture. And reveal insights into hygiene both in the house and of the individuals themselves. They can also tell us about diet and health, and in some cases, funeral practices.

The study of insects is most powerful when combined with other forms of environmental analysis, and it can create a deeply intimate (perhaps too intimate) understanding of people in the past. In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had a chat with Dr. Steve Davis of the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. Steve tells us of what kind of evidence insect analysis can provide and the background to this expert sub-discipline. This is a fascinating discussion and I hope you enjoy the episode, but perhaps not one to listen to while you’re having your dinner!

A Bug’s AfterLife; Archaeological Insect Analysis – Key Discussion Points

• How do you find archaeological insects, do they preserve well? – 1 min 10 secs
• What are the ideal sort of contexts to find insects in? – 2 min 39 secs
• What sort of information can insects reveal about the past? – 5 min 30 secs
• What can insects reveal about big events like pandemics? – 9 min 43 secs
• Can insects tell us more about things like farming, industrial processes or trade? – 12 min 15 secs
• Living with insects – 15 min 10 secs
• What can insects tell us about the differences between living in an urban or rural setting – 16 min 15 secs
• The Joy of Cess – 21 min 52 secs
• Body lice and fleas – 22 mins 42 secs
• What species of insect does Steve love to discover when he is examining a sample – 24 min 15 secs
• Insects in the house – 26 min 55 secs
• The origins of archaeological insect studies and the work of Dr. Eileen Reilly – 28 mins 41 secs
• The challenges posed to archaeoentomology – 33 min 42 secs
• How did Steve get into the study of insects – 36 mins 35 secs
• How is Ireland faring with archaeological insect studies, is there more that can be done? – 39 min 38 secs
• Is there a danger of ‘period bias’ when it comes to what we sample and analyse – 43 min 39 secs
• Should archaeologists start sampling more for insect analysis? – 47 min 10 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• Thanks to Steve and Eva Kourela for kindly providing the images used on this page.
• Dr Eileen Reilly who sadly passed in 2018, has had an incredible legacy on environmental archaeology in Ireland and elsewhere. I was fortunate to work briefly with Eileen during the analysis of the Mill at Kilbegly back in 2007, and her insights were so important in developing our understanding. She was as wonderful a person as she was an archaeologist and researcher. Eileen’s work features prominently in the excellent recent publication Between the Meadows, that describes the excavation and analysis of a remarkable series of preserved trackways in the wetlands of Edercloon near Longford.
• Another important aspect of Eileen’s work was her research on Viking and Medieval Dublin. Encapsulated in this paper: The contribution of insect remains to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and Medieval Dublin
• And this paper in Quaternary International: From Christchurch Place to Fishamble Street: Developments inarchaeoentomology in Dublin, Ireland, since 1981 (hosted on Academia.edu but there is no need to create an account, you can access the full article by scrolling down rather than trying to download).
• Part of Steve’s research was to examine what insects can reveal about prehistoric burnt mounds. You can read his paper here: The Environmental Context and Function of Burnt-Mounds: New Studies of Irish Fulachtaí Fiadh
• Deer Park Farms featured prominently in the discussion, and you can read about what the insect evidence reveals about that important site here: Environment, activity and living conditions at Deer Park Farms: evidence from plant and invertebrate remains. (Hosted on Academia.edu but there is no need to create an account, you can access the full article by scrolling down rather than trying to download).
• If you’d like to read the paper on that remarkably dedicated project by Prof. Peter Osborne you can do so here: An insect fauna from a modern cesspit and its comparison with probable cesspit assemblages from archaeological sites.
• And this was built on in this paper by Dr Katherine Grove: Discerning beetles, an entomo-archaeological study of coleopteran faunas in relation to place and time.
• Or Dr David Smith’s paper: Pondering Privies: Construction, Use, Reuse, and Other Speculations About Cesspits in the Archaeological Record.
• The importance of environmental archaeology was also discussed in the episode on Wetland Archaeology.
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. Online courses, places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here.

Looming large over the plains of Kildare is a large tree-lined hill. This is Dún Áilinne, believed to be one of Ireland’s ancient ‘royal sites’, and a place of significance for millennia. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Dr. Sharon Greene climbed the storied slopes to meet the team of archaeologists who are seeking to discover Dún Ailline’s secrets.

Recent summers have seen teams of American archaeology students working around the summit of a large hill, close to Kilcullen in county Kildare. They are being trained by professional archaeologists from America and Ireland, in partnership with the Blackfriary Archaeological Field School, and the site they are working on is Dún Áilinne, one of the ancient royal sites of Ireland.

Although Dún Áilinne may not be as well known as Emain Macha (Navan Fort), Rathcroghan, or the Hill of Tara, excavations over the last 50 years have revealed the foundations of an impressive series of large circular timber structures constructed during the Iron Age. These are set in the vicinity of the hill summit, an area enclosed by a massive bank and ditch. The shape of the structures, the discovery of evidence for feasting and the early medieval documentary records of the site all point to a place of ritual and gathering.

In this podcast we will be talking to the site directors, Dr Susan Johnston of George Washington University and Professor Pam Crabtree of New York University (who first came to Dún Áilinne to excavate 50 years ago) as well as other involved in the field school to find out more about the archaeology of the site and the experience of uncovering this iconic site.

Dr Sharon Greene takes over the mic for this episode, and climbs the storied hill to discuss the project and this enigmatic monument with the excavation team. I hope you enjoy the episode!

We are very grateful to the landowners, the Thompson family, for allowing us to visit the excavations to record the podcast and to all the members of the excavation crew for making us so welcome. I’d like to thank all the contributors for kindly sharing their insights and time with us; Dr Susan Johnston, Prof. Pam Crabtree, Dr Zenobie Garrett, Paul Fingleton, Ava Thompson and Sydney Greene. I’m also really grateful to Dr Sharon Greene for doing such a fantastic job, and our brilliant sound engineer Declan Lonergan. Please note that Dún Áilinne is located on private farmland and visits are not possible without prior arrangement with the landowner.

Digging Dún Áilinne – Key Discussion Points

• What is Dún Áilinne (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 2 min 09 secs
• What are the key archaeological features of Dún Áilinne (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 5 min 07 secs
• The summit of the hill (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 11 min 06 secs
• Dún Áilinne as a place of gathering and its role in the past (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 14 min 52 secs
• The excavations at Dún Áilinne by Prof. Bernard Wailes between 1968–75 (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 16 min 31 secs
• What instigated the current programme of research and excavation (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 19 min 48 secs
• The results of the recent excavation (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 22 min 46 secs
• What was it about Dún Áilinne that attracted researchers from America, and what is the local involvement? (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 26 min 34 secs
• Where can people find out a bit more about the excavation (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 30 mins 35 secs
• What is the future of the project, and if money was no object what would you do next? (chat with Dr Susan Johnston) – 31 min 51 secs
• Pam describes her experience excavating at Dún Áilinne 50 years ago (chat with Prof. Pam Crabtree) – 34 mins 44 secs
• What has been the biggest changes in archaeology and our understanding of Dún Áilinne over the past 50 years (chat with Prof. Pam Crabtree) – 36 min 53 secs
• The animal bone assemblage (chat with Prof. Pam Crabtree) – 38 min 36 secs
• What Pam would like to see for the future research of the site (chat with Prof. Pam Crabtree) – 41 min 28 secs
• How does it feel for Pam to be back excavating at a site she first encountered 50 years ago (chat with Prof. Pam Crabtree) – 44 min 28 secs
• What was Zenobi’s experience like when she first arrived at Dún Áilline in 2007 (chat with Dr. Zenobie Garrett) – 45 min 18 secs
• The new technologies utilised at Dún Áilinne (chat with Dr. Zenobie Garrett) – 47 min 34 secs
• What does Zenobi see as the future of the site, and what she would like to see for future research (chat with Dr. Zenobie Garrett) – 50 min 28 secs
• How does a research dig compare with commercial (pre-construction) archaeology? (chat with Paul Fingleton) – 51 min 47 secs
• What was it like for Paul as a near-local, to work on such an important monument? (chat with Paul Fingleton) – 53 min 12 secs
• We meet students Sydney Greene and Ava Thompson (chat with Paul Fingleton) – 54 min 01 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find out more about the excavations at Dun Áilinne on this excellent project Storymap
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. Online courses, places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here.

Have you ever wondered what life was like in Viking Age Ireland. In this fascinating discussion with Dr Rebecca Boyd, we walk the streets of Viking Dublin to discuss houses, towns and trade.

In the year AD 795, Ireland’s Viking Age begins with a bloody raid on our coastal monasteries. Over the centuries, the Vikings changed from raiders to traders, and developed our first true urban centres. Their legacy is all around us today, especially if you live in one of their towns – like Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick or Wexford. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had the opportunity to discuss life in Viking Age Ireland with Dr Rebecca Boyd.

Rebecca has been carrying fascinating research looking at the architectural evidence from the Viking excavations of Dublin, Cork and Waterford to tell a new story about the beginnings of urbanism in Ireland. The chat ranges from an overview of the Viking Age to the development of our towns, what a typical Viking house would have been like to life in 10th century Dublin. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Viking Age Ireland – Key Discussion Points

• Rebecca gives an overview of the story of the Vikings in Ireland – 1 min 20 secs
• What drew Rebecca to study the Viking Age? – 6 min 49 secs
• And what was it about the environmental and everyday life of Viking Ireland that Rebecca found compelling? – 10 min 04 secs
• If we were to walk down a street in Viking Dublin, what would we experience, see and smell? – 12 min 37 secs
• What would a typical Viking street be made of? – 17 min 01 secs
• Who was responsible for the upkeep of the streets in Viking Dublin? – 19 min 15 secs
• What was a typical Viking house like? How big, what were they made of, and what sort of privacy was there? – 21 min 15 secs
• Were the houses themselves just for sleeping and eating in? How was the space used? – 27 min 03 secs
• What was life like for the elite and the poor? How were their houses different?  – 30 min 25 secs
• What was life like for a slave in Viking Age Ireland? – 34 min 15 secs
• What sorts of evidence do we have that inform us of life in the Viking Age? – 39 mins
• Wood Quay and its legacy – 42 mins
• How does the approach to Viking studies in Ireland compare with other countries that share similar heritage? – 47 min 35 secs
• The importance of archival focused research projects – 54 mins 15 secs
• The Vikings as a historical ‘brand’ – 58 min 10 secs
• Viking tourism in Ireland – how the public can interact with our Viking heritage. – 1 hour 01 mins 37 secs
• Rebecca tells us about her exciting forthcoming publication Exploring Ireland’s Viking-Age Towns: Houses and Homes – 1 hour 06 mins 51 secs
• What should people think differently about the Vikings? – 1 hour 08 mins 48 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• Be sure to subscribe to Rebecca’s podcast Viking Age Environments. It is available on various podcast platforms, but you can find the best information on her website here.
• Rebecca’s book is imminent and I cannot wait! It is called Exploring Ireland’s Viking-Age Towns: Houses and Homes and I’ll add a link as soon as it is available for purchase.
• There’s a fantastic Walking Tour and Activity Book on Viking Dublin, it’s by Rosalind Bonté, Eleanor Jackson, Maria Teresa Ramandi, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Rebecca Boyd and Erin Goeres. Guided by Aoife the Archaeologist, you can take a stroll around the streets of modern Dublin and learn about the Viking remains beneath your feet. You can download it for free here.
• Rebecca’s Academia profile and list of papers (including many on Viking Age Ireland) can be found here.
• Eat the Viking streets of Dublin: a blog post by Rebecca about the environment of Viking Dublin is available here.
• Did Ireland’s first Vikings really have black hair? Find out here.
• Find out how blood thirsty Vikings became the stars of Irish tourism in Rebecca’s article for RTÉ Brainstorm here.
• Also on Brainstorm, Rebecca discusses the far-reaching effects the Vikings had when they settled down. You can find that here.
• We have a free audiobook about the remarkable discovery of a Viking longphort at Woodstown in County Waterford. It’s on all podcast platforms, find it here.
• You can also find the Conservation Management Plan that we wrote for Woodstown here.
• Please do leave us a review if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. Online courses, places to visit, itineraries for great days out and more! Sign up here.

The Knockroe Winter Solstice is one of the highlights of my year. This Neolithic passage tomb is aligned to both sunrise and sunset on the solstice. Professor Muiris O’Sullivan who excavated Knockroe joins us to discuss this wonderful site, Neolithic Ireland and meaning in episode 28 of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.

In this episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil had another great chat with Professor Muiris O’Sullivan, who you might remember from our Winter Solstice at Newgrange Miniseries. This time Muiris told us all about Knockroe Passage Tomb in the Lingaun Valley, on the borderlands between Kilkenny and Tipperary. Like Newgrange, Knockroe also has Winter Solstice alignments, but for both the sunrise and sunset. Making it a very rare example of a dual-aligned tomb.

Muiris discussed his excavations at Knockroe, the findings and megalithic art, and how an innovative experimental archaeology project by Tara Clarke (now a much-valued colleague at Abarta Heritage!) has revealed some fascinating insights into Neolithic Ireland. We also discussed folklore, borders and boundaries, and the  incredibly rich and varied heritage of the Lingaun Valley. Many thanks again to Muiris for all his time and insights. If you’d like to explore this archaeological landscape for yourself do tune into the episode to find out how to get your free itinerary map!

Knockroe Winter Solstice – Key Discussion Points

• The setting of Knockroe Passage Tomb – 2 min 26 secs
• How did Muiris first come to study Knockroe? – 3 min 08 secs
• The archaeological landscape of the Lingaun Valley – 4 min 30 secs
• Borderlands – 6 min 57 secs
• The importance of Slievenamon – 11 min 03 secs
• Folklore, Myths and Legends – 12 min
• The excavations at Knockroe – 12 min 30 secs
• The interesting geology and use of stone at Knockroe – 17 min 47 secs
• The two passageways of Knockroe – 23 min
• Human remains at Knockroe – 26 mins 09 secs
• The artefactual assemblage at Knockroe – 28 min 50 secs
• Experimental archaeology and bone pins – 29 min 56 secs
• Carrowkeel Bowls – 33 mins 30 secs
• The Megalithic Art at Knockroe – 36 min 30 secs
• How did the excavations at Knockroe change Muiris’s perception of passage tombs – 39 mins 19 secs
• The local folklore of Knockroe – 44 min 30 secs
• The Knockroe Winter Solstice and meaning in Neolithic Ireland – 48 min 04 secs
• The Winter Solstice at Knockroe today, spirituality, meaning and belief – 50 min 52 secs

Show notes and links to further information

• The Winter Solstice event at Knockroe is always a lovely experience. It is managed by the local community through Lingaun Valley Tourism. You can follow them on Facebook here.
• If you can’t make it there, I highly recommend watching the Winter Solstice at Newgrange live online. National Monuments and the OPW have it livestreamed here.
• Muiris featured in the opening episode of our Newgrange and Winter Solstice Miniseries. You can find that here.
• Muiris co-authored an excellent article on Knockroe in the latest edition of Archaeology Ireland Magazine. Give yourself a great Christmas gift by subscribing, to keep up with the latest news and research in Irish Archaeology. You can do so at the Wordwell Website.
• I highly recommend Muiris’s excellent Wordwell Publication Antiquities of Rural Ireland by Muiris and for a wonderful overview of all periods of Irish archaeology.
• You can also find out more about Knockroe in our article here.
• You can access the Lingaun Valley Itinerary Map by signing up for our mailing list in the box below.
• Or you can access it, along with a whole host of other itineraries, articles on places to visit, online courses and much more by subscribing to our new membership service: Tuatha.
• Please do leave Amplify Archaeology Podcast a review if you can, or share the episode on social media using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us out so I’d be very grateful.