In recent years the Field School has focussed its research on the Bend of the Boyne. The area, known as Brú na Bóinne, focussing on the major passage tomb complexes of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
Our research aims to complement The Heritage Council’s Brú na Bóinne Research Framework. Although Knowth in particular demonstrates the long and varied history of use of these places (Eogan 1968, 1984; Eogan et al. 2007, 2008; Stout and Stout 2008), there is much yet to be understood about settlement, burial practices, changing land-use and land ownership within the World Heritage Site itself, but also beyond it to the west.
The project is focussing on the role of the river as routeway into and out of this wider landscape, and aims to expand and build on work already carried out within Brú na Bóinne. All periods (from Mesolithic to the 19th Century) are under investigation, including known and yet to be discovered archaeological sites, battlefields and architectural heritage. In 2010 we will be focussing our research on the following sites: |
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Bective Abbey, Co. Meath
Bective Abbey is an imposing and beautiful collection of buildings overlooking the River Boyne, Co. Meath. The second of a series of Cistercian abbeys in Ireland, Bective was founded in 1147 by Murchadh O'Melaghlin, King of Meath. Bective continued in importance after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans and the establishment of the Liberty of Meath by the important marcher Lord Hugh de Lacy in the later 12th century. The Abbey was the initial burial place for de Lacy after his murder before being moved to Dublin after a legal dispute. The Abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536 and its possessions passed to the Dillons and the Boltons. While elements of its history are known there is an enormous amount to be learnt about everyday life of the Abbey through archaeological research.
In 2009 the Field School undertook a further programme of geophysical survey, architectural building survey and excavation (click here to read the report). |
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Rosnaree, Boyne Valley, Co. Meath
In 2010 we will be working in partnership with Dr Conor Brady of the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The Rossnaree enclosure is located in the western corner of the bend of the Boyne, on the southern side of the river. The location of the site is highly significant within the Brú na Bóinne complex. It marks the point at which the river begins to delineate the ‘bend’ of Brú na Bóinne and is located directly to the SW and across the River Boyne from the Knowth complex. It is located on the first gravel terrace above the river and while the inner three ditches seem to focus on a low topographic knoll, the outer ditch of the enclosure seems to extend a significant distance further eastwards probably cutting off the corner of this area and formally defining the space. |
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Rath Maeve, Hill of Tara, Co. Meath
Rath Maeve and The Hill of Tara are set in the rolling pasture land of south central Meath and this may have been one of the factors which lead to its choice as the focus for ritual activity from at least as early as the Neolithic period and ultimately led to its role as royal seat and major ceremonial and ritual centre prior to the coming of Christianity (Fenwick 1997, 1). The hinterland around Tara consists of rich pasture land and would have supported a large settled population throughout the prehistoric period. While it is difficult to define the boundary or territory that would have been under the control of Tara at different stages in prehistory it is likely that this boundary was fluid and would have fluctuated over time. |
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| Other areas of research include: |
Newgrange Lightbox Project
In partnership with RTE (Ireland National Television Broadcaster) and model makers from Dun Laoghaoire Institute of Art, Design & Technology, we attempted to reconstruct the famous lightbox at Newgrange Passage tomb in the heart of the Boyne Valley Heritage Park. The first part of the study, undertaken in the summer and broadcast on national television during Ireland’s Heritage Week, was to allow the team - with the aid of archaeoastronomer Dr Frank Prendergast - to sight in the position of the winter solstice and plan the engineering and design of the passage. During the summer and autumn, the model makers will be busy in a warehouse in Dublin making models of the lightbox and orthostats. The teams met again at Newgrange in the days leading up the winter solstice, constructed the model overnight, and awaited the first rays of sun coming over the horizon in the east, in hope and anticipation that the lightbox would recreate the wonder of the adjacent passage tomb. The work was aired on national television in January 2010 |
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Trim, Co. Meath
The medieval town of Trim, with its abbeys and the iconic King John’s castle is one of Irelands most prominent historic sites. While the castle was extensively excavated, until recently relatively little was known about the archaeology of the town. CRDS Ltd in conjunction with the Heritage Council and Meath County Council held a conference in 2008 on recent excavations. The proceedings of the conference have recently been published in a book entitled ‘Uncovering Medieval Trim’ edited by Matthew Seaver (Irish Archaeological Field School) and Dr Michael Potterton (Renowned Academic with research interests in Trim). This book revealed the Early Medieval origins of the town, evidence of the how the towns’ layout changed over time, details of lost burial grounds, religious houses, suburbs and daily life. |
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The Battle of the Boyne (1690)
An assessment of the site of the Williamite encampment was undertaken by CRDS on behalf of the Office of Public Works in 2002. The study was undertaken with a view to bringing forward a series of recommendations as to the management of the lands. The focus of the recommendations were twofold: to protect whatever physical remains survive and the visual amenity of those remains, their location having been deduced through interpretation of the terrain and the available documentary evidence; and to suggest means whereby the encampment, and the movements of the Williamite troops, could be presented and interpreted for the public, principally by means of storyboards, viewsheds and walking routes. The results indicated that it is possible to reconstruct with reasonable accuracy the location of the Williamite encampment. |
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Industrial Archaeology & Architectural Heritage
In partnership with consultants Architectural Recording and Research, our architectural heritage specialist Aislinn Collins MA PGDip DipEIAMgt MIAI undertook the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage for County Meath 2000. This survey, which includes a database record and images of each building/structure has been published as the Survey of the Architectural Heritage of County Meath (Government of Ireland 2002). Participants in the 2010 programme will have the opportunity to learn the principals and practice of architectural heritage recording. |
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| Read more about our excavations and project Word or Pdf File. |
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