IAR Digital Magazine

Irish Archaeological Research

Digital Magazine Winter 2012 Distributed For Free Volume 1 No. 2 Issue No. 2

Bringing our local heritage to the world

Lessons in a Lost Landscape

In the second of two articles on traditional houses, Rowan McLaughlin discusses their symbolic importance, intrinsic value and place in the landscape

‘Here’s to Five more Years’

Naomi Carver examines the benefits of the Young Archaeologists’ Club and highlights the importance of this outlet for archaeological learning

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter)

Isabel Bennett highlights a forward-thinking and diverse 'treasure' of a museum in the Dingle Peninsula How long have you had your trowel?

We try and find out why we grow so attached to our most symolic tool.

Plantation: Mapping the North

Dianaevents Mc Cormackguide tells us thefor history of mapping Ulster is no exception to the old that it is in war Our Derry ~ Londonderry City ofadage Culture 2013 that we make our greatest advancements

Excavations, theArchaeology story so far.Conference, past history and recent The Experimental A series of articles on the excavations of 2011.

developments

Ruth Fillery-Travis discusses the benefits of the experimental archaeology conference series

www.IrishArchaeologicalResearch.com

© Irish Archaeological Research 2012 This magazine is free IAR Digital Magazine Issue 2 February 2012

Contents 1 Welcome

3

‘Here’s to Five more Years’ Naomi Carver examines the benefits of the Young Archaeologists' Club and highlights the importance of this outlet for archaeological learning

6

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter) Isabel Bennett highlights a forward-thinking and diverse 'treasure' of a museum in the Dingle Peninsula

10

Plantation: Mapping the North Diana Mc Cormack tells us the history of mapping Ulster is no exception to the old adage that it is in war that we make our greatest advancements

29

A Good Night, Night at the Museum Clare Ablett describes what goes on at the Ulster Museum behind closed doors

31

Lessons in a Lost Landscape In the second of two articles on traditional houses, Dr Rowan McLaughlin discusses their symbolic importance, intrinsic value and place in the landscape

35

The Games People Play Ross Bailey takes a look at ancient board games and discovers that the same rules still apply

39

The Experimental Archaeology Conference, past history and recent developments Ruth Fillery-Travis discusses the benefits of the experimental

16

Too cool for school, Not! Christina O'Regan, Fieldwork and Education Director of IAR, describes how engaging in archaeological activities helps children learn about their past

19

Forestry and Archaeology Malcolm Beatty, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Forest Service, talks about the association between our Forests and Archaeology

archaeology conference series

41

Altered Images: 3D technologies in a 2D archaeological world Gavin Donaghy looks in his front room and finds the future of archaeological illustration

44 Lottery boost for Belfast Hills Partnership An update on the Belfast Hills Partnership Project

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

This is the second edition of our magazine, we hope you enjoy reading it. Please contact us via facebook or email if you have any queries or comments regarding the magazine or any of the articles.

The first issue of the magazine released in October 2011 was very well received with over 9880 downloads of the magazine from 40 countries across the world, the top five countries being UK, Ireland, USA, France, Germany, Italy and Australia—on top of that 6800 people viewed the magazine on their browser and 3080 downloaded it to their portable devise.

We would like to say thank you to all of you who read the first magazine, and we hope you enjoy this issue even more, also a very big thank you to our contributors for taking the time to write the great articles in this issue.

Contributors

Naomi Carver, Center for Archaeological Fieldworks, Queens University, Belfast

Isabel Bennett, Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, West Kerry

Diana McCormack, Archaeological Conservator

Christina O’Regan, IAR Education and Fieldwork Director

Malcolm Beatty, Chief Executive of the Forestry Service

Clare Ablett, Ulster Museum, Belfast

Dr. Rowan McLaughlin, Queens University, Belfast

Ross Bailey, IAR Experimental Director

Ruth Fillery‐Travis, University College London

Gavin Donaghy, IAR Technical Director

Editor: Christina O’Regan Layout & design: Lianne Heaney

1

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

www.IrishArchaeologicalResearch .com

magazine@IrishArchaeologicalResearch.com

https://www.facebook.com/IrishArchaeologicalResearch

http://twitter.com/#!/IAR1

http://irisharchaeologicalresearch.blogspot.com/

Request for Articles We are looking for your help; the IAR Digital Magazine is written by volunteers, people just like you. We are looking for news items and articles about archaeology, history, heritage and culture.

Is there a subject here that interests you? You do not have to be an expert; just have a good working knowledge of your subject and a passion to inform the wider world about it. Are you involved with a local historical society or heritage network and want to spread the word about your organisation? If yes why not write a small article and send it in to us.

As the magazine is digital it can reach a large worldwide audience with more ease than a traditional paper magazine. Our website and facebook page receive over 9000 visits each month.

The top 5 countries many of these visitors come from are UK, Ireland, USA, Italy and Australia.

The size of the article depends on your subject, generally 200‐500 words and it can include as many images and illustrations as are needed to suit the article.

Submit your article to: magazine@irisharchaeologicalresearch.com 2

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

Here’s to five more years!

Naomi Carver examines the benefits of the Young Archaeologists' Club and highlights the importance of this outlet for archaeological learning.

The Belfast Branch of the Young Archaeologists’ Club celebrated its fifth birthday in June 2011. The club now has nearly 70 registered members between the ages of 8 and 16, with an average of 40 attending regularly. The children enjoy being able to explore the past as well as making new friends.

The Young Archaeologists' Club (YAC) is a UK‐wide organisation for young people up to the age of seventeen who have, or want to, develop an interest in archaeology, history and their heritage. The YAC has its roots in 1972 when Kate Pretty and Mike Corbishley set up an archaeology club in England known as the ‘Young Rescue’. The club became so popular it outgrew its humble beginnings and was soon passed to the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) for safekeeping. The CBA administers, and supports, the network of local YAC Branches run by volunteer leaders from all walks of life. The aim of the organisation is to promote participation in archaeological research, education and the conservation of the built, buried, landscape and townscape heritage. The YAC provides an opportunity for young people to share in this experience and to discover just how much fun it can be to learn about the past. The club takes two forms: YAC UK which is a magazine‐based subscription package for young people up to the age of 17, and the YAC Branch network which comprises local YAC branches of which there are around 70 spread throughout the UK. Most branches meet once a month and are run by teams of volunteers. The Belfast YAC Branch is one of two branches of the Young Archaeologists' Club in Northern Ireland; the second is based in Down County Museum, Downpatrick, Co. Down.

The Belfast Branch at Queen’s was launched on 17th June 2006 and is run by a team of staff and students from the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, as well as outside volunteers. The club’s first session was a taster session held at Queen’s University which was a great success and was soon followed by a family field‐walking venture in Comber, County Down. The children and their parents had lots of fun, collecting and identifying hundreds of pieces of flint dating from the Mesolithic and Neolithic.

3

Belfast YAC members with Dr. Emily Murray of Queens University

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Activities The club has flourished in the five years since its launch. One of its main strengths is that, as the club is university‐based, it can draw upon a range of expertise in diverse subject areas, as well as having access to the university’s facilities. In the last year the club has also forged links with the Ulster Museum and several sessions have been held at the museum under the leadership of their Education Officer Fiona Baird.

The Belfast YAC meets once a month at the state‐of‐the‐art Archaeology and Palaeoecology building at Queen’s University for sessions on a wide range of topics, exploring not only archaeology but also history, geography, geology, palaeoecology and anthropology. A few of the best meetings have been on prehistoric pottery‐making and a celebration of the Mexican Days of the Dead, which we hope to repeat next year. More recently the club’s members have learnt about the ancient temples of Malta and visited the Ulster Museum to learn about the Spanish Armada and ‘body modification’ through the ages. As well as in‐house sessions we also head out on fieldtrips. The Giant’s Ring, Belfast, Navan Fort, Co. Armagh, Carrickfergus Castle, Co. Antrim, Newgrange, Co. Meath and Audleystown tower‐house, Co. Down are among those which have been enjoyed through the years, as well as some spooky Halloween visits to Friar’s Bush and Clifton Street cemeteries.

Above, Right & Left: Belfast YAC members displaying the masks they created during one of their meetings.

Belfast YAC plans for 2012 The Belfast Branch has an exciting schedule lined up for the next six months. The January session will focus on the Vikings, while in February Professor Audrey Horning (QUB) will be exploring the history and material culture of Virginia Indians in a quest to find out the real story of Pocahontas. This will be followed in March with a session on Bronze Age fibulae led by Dr Dirk Brandherm (QUB). In April the club will host a special session to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, while in May there will be a fieldtrip to Lisburn Castle Gardens, the importance of which was first uncovered during excavations led by Ruairí Ó Baoill in 2003, and which has since been restored to its former glory. The final session planned for the next six months is on the Belfast Blitz in June 2012.

4

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

Forging Friendships The growing interest in the Young Archaeologists’ Club and the fact that, in Northern Ireland at least, young people are prepared to travel long distances to attend, highlights a strong desire to learn about the past.

However, Belfast YAC is also a social occasion for the young people who attend. Many friendships have been forged through a shared love and interest in the past and some of the original members have now become official Helpers or Assistant Leaders, some of whom have also gone on to study archaeology at university.

An Uncertain Future?

The CBA, like many other organisations and charities, is being faced with a reduction in its income due to a withdrawal of public funding with the result that the YAC is now facing an uncertain future. Without the vital support from YAC HQ many of the regional branches may be forced to close down. To enable the fantastic range of opportunities Branches offer young people to continue, the CBA have launched a ‘Dig Deep for YAC’ campaign. To find out how you can support this vitally important work please visit the ‘Dig Deep for YAC’ campaign pages at www.yac‐uk.org/yaccampaign or find its page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/digdeepforyac. Although there are only two YAC Branches in Northern Ireland, the focus now must be on preserving and supporting these existing clubs and the Belfast YAC welcomes new ideas for fundraising.

Further Information The Belfast Branch meets on the second Saturday of each month (excluding July). New members and volunteers are welcome ‐ for more information please visit the club’s website: www.qub.ac.uk/sites/byac or contact Branch Leader Naomi Carver via email (belfastyac@qub.ac.uk) or telephone (+44(0) 28 9097 3728).

For information about joining YAC UK please visit: www.britarch.ac.uk/yac

5

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter) Isabel Bennett highlights a forward‐thinking and diverse 'treasure' of a museum in the Dingle Peninsula.

Is i nGaeltacht Chorca Dhuibhne atá Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne lonnaithe – 13 km siar ón nDaingean i gCo. Chiarraí.

Ceantar saibhir ó thaobh na seandálaíochta is ea é– leis na mílte séadcomharthaí chomh maith leis na tránna, sléibhte, ceol agus caitheamh aimsire. Bíonn na múrtha fáilte roimis fhoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge i gcónaí. Bain triail as!

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, situated in the village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter) in the West Kerry Gaeltacht (Irish‐speaking area), lies about 13km (8 miles) west of the town of Dingle. This small museum is operated by a local development co‐operative, and was opened in 1986, initially as a Heritage Centre. It is situated in the old school building in the village, and has a small but pertinent display relating to various aspects of the heritage of the area, with a particular emphasis on archaeology. The exhibition panels are bilingual, but the exhibition text is also available in French, German, Polish, Spanish and Norwegian. We are open during the Easter holiday period and 7 days a week during the summer season (June to September), otherwise by appointment.

6

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 Some of the artefacts on display are on loan from the National Museum of Ire‐ land, and include items from the Riasc excavations, and from the promontory fort/siege site of Dún an Óir, both sites being quite close to the village. There are also 6 ogham stones on display (the Dingle Pen‐ insula having a great den‐ sity of these monu‐ ments), and several cross‐ inscribed stones.

Our

most

eye‐catching

Inside the museum

artefact, however, is proba‐

bly a soup pot, or ‘Boiler’, which was used in this area during the period of the Great Famine – its size, and signifi‐ cance, never ceases to amaze visitors of all ages.

The archive of the Archaeological Survey of the Dingle Peninsula, which was carried out in the early 1980s, is also available for consultation in the museum, by appointment, and consists of individual detailed files on all of the sites described in the publication and more, as well as slides and black and white images, ordnance survey maps, original site plans and other materials. From time to time travelling exhibitions are hosted in the museum, to add to the permanent display, and for 2012 we will have a new exhibition, departing considerably in subject matter from the current permanent display, about Whales and Dolphins around the coast of Corca Dhuibhne (i.e. the Dingle Peninsula).

During the winter months, the café space is in constant use, as this part of the museum doubles as a community centre, where music, cooking, Irish language and other classes are held, book clubs come together, meetings and other events take place – it is probably busier in the wintertime than in the summer!

Although small in size and limited in budget, we feel we have achieved much and are always open to new ideas.

Some of the more recent initiatives, including the translation of our web site, www.westkerrymuseum.com, into several continental languages, the development of brochures illustrating pleasant loop walks nearby, and also worksheets for children, have taken place with grant as‐ sistance from the Heritage Council and from the De‐ partment of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. During 2012 we will launch a Sculpture Trail, ‘Conair Dealbhadóireachta Iarthar Dhuibhneach’, highlighting the locations of art works, both modern and some more ancient, to be found in Dingle town and the area west of it.

The ‘Boiler’

7

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

We also are always delighted to welcome new friends to our Facebook pages, ‘Dingle Peninsula Museum’ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dingle‐Peninsula‐Museum/183075821733699 and ‘Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne’ http://www.facebook.com/DinglePeninsulaMuseum#!/DinglePeninsulaMuseum (which has more of its content in the Irish language).

The museum benefited hugely through its participation in the Pilot Study run by the Heritage Council prior to the setting up of the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland, http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/museums‐archive/ heritage‐council‐initiatives/museums‐and‐standards‐programme/, in which it was awarded Interim Accreditation in 2008 and is now working to achieve Full Accreditation.

The curator, Isabel Bennett, is an archaeologist by training, who came to the area initially to work on the Archaeological Survey of the area. She is delighted to assist visitors with queries they might have in relation to nearby archaeological sites, and there is no denying that the Dingle Peninsula is one of the richest areas that one could visit should one wish to spend time seeking out monuments.

The Riasc pillar stone

8

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 The museum is at its busiest during the summer, tourist season, and works in conjunction with its parent Cill Mhaoilchéadair (Kilmalkedar) body, Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, www.oidhreacht.ie, to provide appropriate events for the many adults who come to the area to improve their knowledge of the Irish language, including tours to archaeological sites in the area led by the curator. The museum bookshop stocks material relating to the culture of the area, but also many publications which might be beneficial to those with an interest in the Irish language, and there is also a small café with home baking.

Cill Mhaoilchéadair (Kilmalkedar)

We think we have a little treasure chest in our museum, and are always delighted to welcome new visitors.

Further details of opening times, or any other queries you may have, can be obtained from the curator at info@westkerrymuseum.com, or by ringing +353 (0)66 91 56 333.

We can be contacted by post by writing to: Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Trá Lí, Co. Chiarraí.

info@westkerrymuseum.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dingle-Peninsula-Museum/183075821733699 http://www.facebook.com/DinglePeninsulaMuseum#!/DinglePeninsulaMuseum

Background image: An Baile Riabhach – Teampall Mhanacháin

9

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Plantation: mapping the north

By Diana McCormack

The history of mapping Ulster is no exception to the old adage that it is in war that we make our greatest advancements.

When Hugh O’Neill finally laid down his arms in 1603, days after Elizabeth I passed away, the plans were laid for the Plantation of Ulster according to the new king, James I. Colonisation by English and Scottish Protestants officially began around 1609, just as the colony at Virginia was also being settled in the New World. But in order to reapportion the lands taken from the native Irish, James needed to know what lands he had in his possession.

Figure 1: Goghe map 1567

10

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

Figure 2: Bartlett’s Ulster map 1603

Up to this point the best maps of Ulster produced were small-scale affairs, offering only general territorial boundaries and indications of the major topographical features. This was in stark contrast to Britain, where Christopher Saxton’s famous county atlas of England and Wales had been printed decades previously, in the 1570s. The maps that existed of Ireland in the same period [Figure 1] are barely recognisable in comparison, but the most inaccurate portion of the Irish maps was always that part showing Ulster; far beyond the Pale and hostile to the English.

Despite the advent of triangulation in the 16th century, very little by way of actual ground survey seems to have taken place, due in part to the remote nature of much of the province. Many surveys of Ireland were composites or pastiches of earlier works, and in many cases it is plainly obvious that not all the existing maps were available to those attempting to produce new and more accurate ones. About 1603, a general map of Ulster was completed by Richard Bartlett, who was certainly among the more talented of the Elizabethan map-makers [Figure 2]. His map of Ulster is among the first to divide Lough Erne into two main bodies, for example, instead of the large misshapen form seen in Goghe’s map above.

11

Figure 3: Bodley map

Bartlett was a lieutenant serving under Lord Mountjoy, who had distinguished himself as a capable cartographer – a rare thing indeed. Bartlett provides a measure of the situation at the time; a talented cartographer who was discovered among the soldiery and put to work. No cartographers of the day were volunteering to confront the difficult working conditions of Ireland, and many reports agree on the general shortage of competent map-makers at the time. The fact that this shortage was due in part to the hostility of the land is reinforced by the manner in which Bartlett met his end, when, on a survey of Donegal, he was beheaded by the locals in an act of defiance to the new king.

Sir Josias Bodley led the survey of Ulster for James I; Bodley was a military engineer who had served in the war against the O’Neill. He produced a collection of maps c.1609, intended to be a more accurate and comprehensive survey of the escheated counties than anything that had gone before, thus delivering to the king the true value of lands forfeited to the crown by the rebellious natives. The surviving maps cover counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh and Cavan, with parts of Londonderry and Louth. Previous surveys had underestimated the acreage of these lands by up to two-thirds, so Bodley must have won the king’s favour when he delivered his results.

The Bodley maps were produced by a team of six ‘surveyors’, who, rather than doing any physical topographical survey, conducted a guided walk-over of all the forfeited lands and produced written descriptions of all the necessary information. As his guides were local people, many of the place names recorded were in Gaelic form and in some areas cannot be easily identified with modern equivalents. This was then used to draw a plot of townlands and land-use, with barony boundaries and rivers, but omitting unproductive land such as mountains and bogs, and lands not forfeit or belonging to the church [Figure 3].

An inevitable consequence of the surveying method was that directional information was given in relative terms rather than compass points, meaning that in some cases the maps were drawn in mirror-image to the true lie of the land; in the past this has been dismissed as a printer’s error, but this would be impossible given the need to annotate the maps after printing when the mistake would surely have been discovered. It would be interesting to know if this mistake, where it occurred at several points across the survey, was linked with the same member of the survey team, but this is not recorded.

12

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 The inconsistencies in the survey, including non-committal boundaries that do not match from map to map, is most likely a product of the use of six different surveyors with no fixed conventions of measurement.

In county Londonderry the plantation was underpinned by funds from the Irish Society, consisting of companies from the City of London. These companies commissioned their own survey of the lands allotted to them, along with suggested improvements and fortifications that could be made therein; for this task they appointed Sir Thomas Raven. Raven’s maps were completed around 1625, the same year that Charles I succeeded to the throne. These maps of Londonderry bring us down to small-town scale, detailing individual buildings, water mills, roads and style of typical native dwellings. This level of detail was possible because of the smaller area of ground to be covered in his survey [Figure 4].

The 1641 rebellion led to the massacre of many of the settled planters, and the province once again saw years of war following this, as civil war also broke out in England. Oliver Cromwell finally defeated the rebel forces in Ireland with the New Model Army, resulting in a further redistribution of lands. From this point, there were no remaining Irish Catholic landowners in Ulster. In addition, Cromwell came to favour those who supported Parliamentary forces above the king, and began to marginalise the Scottish Presbyterian population.

Figure 4: Raven company map with town detail

13

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 Under Cromwell’s Protectorate it was William Petty (later co-founder of the Royal Society) who undertook the attempt to survey the confiscated land, this time with greater success.

Petty’s Downe Survey, as it became known, both mapped and set down written descriptions of the counties at a parish and barony level, of Fermanagh, Armagh, Donegal, Cavan, Tyrone and parts of Londonderry.

In fact, even Petty’s survey came in at just under 10% short of the true acreage, but this was still a significant improvement on anything that had gone before. The majority of the boundaries mapped

by Petty can still be traced today, even at a townland level.

Unlike the Bodley survey, the coastline and major rivers were not ignored as barony boundaries, and these were made Figure 5: Petty map of Ireland as accurate as possible.

This gave a degree of control over the accuracy of all the units within these frames, and resulted in a much more satisfactory outline, that could be used and added to with confidence by future cartographers. Petty obviously had plans for a more extensive survey in mind as he set about this one, and some years later he unveiled Hiberniae delineatio. This was a collection of county maps of Ireland; although it was not printed until 1685, the majority of this book of maps is thought to have been completed c.1666. The single-sheet map of Ireland, while containing much less detail than his larger-scale maps, can be compared with the Goghe map above to demonstrate the improvement in the outline that Petty achieved. Between these two maps is approximately a century; these improvements, filling in the map of Ireland, and especially Ulster, were born out of the constant military presence and the political and economic need created during the conflicts (Figure 5).

All the maps discussed in the text are available for consultation, in one form or another, at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, in Belfast. Copies of some maps are also available from the National Archives, both in London and Dublin.

14

Irish Archaeological Research is a member supported social enterprise. Our aim is to bring information about your local heritage to a wider audience. We have started a membership scheme to help fund our projects and with membership for one year just £12.50 you can help support the following:

 The Publication of a free Digital Magazine about Heritage, History and Archaeology  Updating and maintaining our websites  Publishing an annual Journal  Arranging archaeological events such as excavations, conferences, lectures and experimental archaeology days

As part of your membership you will receive:  A welcome pack  An automatic subscription to our digital magazine  Free Digital copy of our yearly Journal  A 20% discount on all hard copies of our publications  A yearly newsletter  Notification of all of our events and free attendance to them

If you would like to become a member visit our membership page on our website at:

www.IrishArchaeologicalResearch.com Your support will help us introduce our rich cultural heritage to the world

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

r o f l o o c Too ! t o n , l o o s ch Christina O'Regan, Fieldwork and Education Director of IAR, describes how engaging in archaeological activities helps children learn about their past.

When

Irish

Archaeology

Research was established, the most important element of our ethos was the communication of archaeology to the general public, and in particular the younger generation, so that they

may

appreciation

develop for

the

an rich

heritage that surrounds them.

As archaeology is becoming more

integrated

secondary

level

into the

Students at St. Aidans analyse some Post‐medieval bottles and pottery

school

curriculum, organising archaeology workshops, delivered in a school environment, is the ideal way of initiating hundreds of young people into this exciting subject. There are several, if not dozens, of groups all over the UK that bring an extra dimension to learning through specifically designed workshops and activities. These workshops can aid literacy, numeracy and communication skills as well as making education more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, there is a deficit of these groups in the Republic, and indeed in Northern Ireland, though the Young Archaeology Club (YAC) does provide an outlet for interested youths in Belfast and Downpatrick.

I had been contacted by friends working in education to see if there was a way of bringing archaeology into their schools. Using the techniques adopted by those UK‐based groups, we devised our own series of activities and events that can be adapted for each age group.

Our first foray into school workshops was in November 2011 when we were contacted by the librarian at Plunkett College, Dublin. This school is one of approximately 30 in the Republic which participates in the Junior Certificate

16

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 Schools Programme (JCSP) and the workshops were delivered in the library. JCSP libraries are exciting and dynamic learning spaces specifically aimed at underachieving and disadvantaged teenagers. Each library hosts events and activities aimed at improving literacy levels and enhancing the learning experience of JCSP students.

We delivered three hour‐long workshops which were attended by students from all years. The workshops consisted of a short presentation about archaeology and the history of Ireland followed by two practical activities; a show‐and‐tell of genuine and replica artefacts and a demonstration of replica hunter‐gatherer animal traps, Bronze Age arrows, the many uses of flint and learning how to play Brandubh, a chess‐like boardgame believed to have it's origins in Viking Scandinavia.

Describing stratigraphy while students listen, attentively

The day was highly successful with several of the students staying behind to ask more questions about the artefacts and about archaeology in general. We also learned valuable lessons concerning numbers of students per workshop: 35 students firing off questions simultaneously is too many!

On the back of the work at Plunkett College, in December we were invited to another JCSP school, St Aidan's in Tallaght, Dublin, for two full days of workshops. These workshops were directed at junior cycle students with the first day consisting of only 1st year students. The format was as for the previous school with the addition of quizzes based on the presentation. These quizzes were aimed at getting the students to interact with each other by discussing chronology and typology and indeed, promoted some serious debate as to which was older, Navan Fort or Newgrange. The quizzes also showed us if we were clear in our communication of the archaeological timeline. The workshops were, again, very successful with the librarian choosing the school's word of the day as 'Stratigraphy'! As some of the students had already been learning about archaeology we were able to go into much more detail about specific elements such as radiocarbon dating and diet.

17

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 We are in the first few weeks of 2012 and already IAR has been booked by four schools in Wexford and Waterford with further schools in Dublin and Meath expressing a strong interest. While the workshops have, so far, been held in JCSP libraries, we hope that more mainstream schools on both sides of the border will use our services as a fun and interactive means of complementing the curriculum.

Note: All genuine artefacts have been donated, with owner's permission, to IAR through Northern Archaeological Consultancy.

Replica traps, boardgames and arrows ready for action

Attention Teachers/ Group leaders:

Would your kids be interested in talking with archaeologists, learning how they investigate the past and learning about our ancestors from the Prehistoric periods right up to the Post‐Medieval?

Would they like to handle archaeological artefacts found in excavations from Ireland and participate in archaeology themed practicals?

If the answer is YES we can provide archaeology based workshops to suit each age group in a way that will excite and educate.

For further information contact Christina at: christinaoregan@irisharchaeologicalresearch.com 18

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

FORESTRY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Malcolm Beatty, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Forest Service, talks about the association between our Forests and Archaeology Northern Ireland is sparsely covered by forest and,

as a response to agriculture development, land

perhaps

reform and, finally, to meet wartime needs during

at

first

impression,

there

connection between the subjects.

is

little

In fact, the

1914-18 and 1939-45.

opposite is true. Much of the present forest is on land that was converted from settled agricultural

After 1918 the policy was to create a strategic

use.

reserve of timber and reduce our dependence on

need

That process is continuing, and foresters to

understand

the

significance

of

supply from outside the UK.

The 1953 Forestry

archaeological remains, how best to protect them,

Act emphasised the economic nature of plantation

and how they should be interpreted for the benefit

forests. The Forestry Act (Northern Ireland) 2010

of visitors. After planting, the infrequent nature of

took greater account of the environmental and

forest interventions and the seclusion of forest

social context in which

sites tends to provide good protection for sites but,

operates and how the countryside is used.

as trees mature and plans for harvesting and forest

Today, the Department of Agriculture and Rural

regeneration take shape, once again there is a

Development has a general duty to promote

need to understand the archaeology and how to

afforestation and sustainable forestry in such a

conserve the sites.

way as to promote and encourage the enjoyment

modern forest policy

and recreational use of the Department’s forestry Estimates of the extent of forest vary, from 6.5% of

land, and to promote the social benefits of forests.

land area (Forest Service, 2011) to 10.1% in the NI

It discharges this duty through the activities of the

Countryside Survey 2007 (NIEA, 2008), reflecting

Forest Service.

differences in definition of forest and methods of survey. The Woodland Trust identified only 0.04%

Archaeological issues are recognised in the

land cover as “ancient” woodland (Woodland Trust,

standards that guide forest owners and managers,

2011), by which they mean areas that have been

and

wooded since at least 1600.

Much of the

administering DARD forests, in grant aid to plant

remainder has been planted after 1918 (Kilpatrick,

new private forests, and regulation of felling. For

1987). The policy intentions driving new planting

example, the UK Forestry Standard requires forest

have changed outcomes reflect the intentions in

managers to be aware of archaeological and other

terms of species choice and forest location.

features that should be especially protected during

Kirkpatrick (1987) argues that forests were cleared

forest operations (Forestry Commission, 2011).

19

are

used

by

Forest

Service

officials

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 A practical outworking of this is in the current review

The Forest Service values the interest of

of the Forest Service plans for the Department’s

Research Archaeologists in understanding and

forests from Coleraine to Antrim and Larne, where

interpreting the assets in our care. We can assist

foresters are informed about the presence, or

academic studies by providing controlled access

suspected presence, of 100 features in the forests,

to sites, and by providing opportunities to

and the degree of protection given to these sites

communicate learning to forest users.

through scheduling under the relevant DOE orders.

The information available to the Forest Service is sometimes very limited, such as a souterrain reported simply as being within Randalstown Forest.

Sometimes precise locations are known, such as a site where wooden stake enclosures were found in a bog in Clare Forest.

The planning review process is a formal one where the Forest Service invites comments on the management proposals, and takes account of issues raised through consultation.

There are

possibly two interests for archaeologists. One is to make sure that the Forest Service is properly informed about sites that need to be protected. The second might be to assist in interpreting these sites for forest users, to promote and encourage enjoyment and recreational use of that land by the public. As an example, a partnership approach with Fermanagh District Council allowed the expansion of the Marble Arch Caves Global Geo-park to

References & Further Reading Forest Service. Annual Report and Accounts (2011) http://www.dardni.gov.uk/forestservice/annual_report_201011.pdf (accessed 21 December 2011).

Forestry Commission. UKFS Guidelines on Forests and the Historic Environment (2011) http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-8BVF2G Kilpatrick C. Northern Ireland Forest Service: A History (1987) http://www.dardni.gov.uk/forestservice/fs-history-by-cskilpatrick.pdf NIEA. Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 2007: Broad Habitat Change 1998-2007 (2008) h t t p : / / w w w . d o e n i . g o v . u k / n i e a / nics2007_broad_habitat_change_1998-2007_amended.pdf (accessed 21 December, 2011).

Scarpa R, Chilton SM, Hutchinson WG, Buongiorno J. Valuing the recreational benefits from the creation of nature reserves in Irish forests. Ecological Economics (2000) 33:237-250.

Woodland Trust. Back on the Map, the inventory of ancient and long-established woodland in Northern Ireland (2011) http://www.backonthemap.org.uk/ (accessed 21 December, 2011).

include the forests of west Fermanagh.

These

forests

include

many

significant

archaeological features, and walking trails with associated interpretation were developed within the Geo-park area. We know from academic research (Scarpa et al., 2000) that forest visitors place additional value on the presence of interesting features, such as a nature reserve.

Advertise here Your Company, Product or Service can feature here, see inside back page for details.

The challenge is to create a similar awareness and value

for

archaeology,

ranking

alongside the

geology, history, folklore, wildlife and learning that is an integral part of the Geo-park product.

20

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

A list of forests managed by the Northern Ireland Forestry Service and opened to the public.

For more details on each see the Forestry Service website: http://www.dardni.gov.uk/forestservice/

COUNTY ANTRIM Ballyboley Forest was first planted in 1957.

Ballycastle Forest on the slopes of Knocklayd Mountain it was first planted in 1931. Most of this early woodland has now been clear felled and replanted.

Ballypatrick Forest is bisected by the main A2 road which is a popular tourist route between the Glens of Antrim and the Causeway Coast.

Bann Woods North Forest are a series of six small woods adjacent to the River Bann.

Bann Woods South Forest contains many miles of forest roads which members of the public can use for walking.

Breen Forest, this compact forest covers just 600 hectares.

Capanagh Forest, this is a small coniferous forest on the Mid Antrim Plateau near Larne.

Clare Forest or Clare Woods East refers to some small woods, which are grouped together as a management unit.

Cleggan Forest, is a large upland coniferous forest of 1,227 hectares and lies on the southern ties of the Antrim Plateau.

extremi-

Craigs Forest, is a small wood consisting of just over 260 hectares.

Garry Forest, is a small wood consisting of just over 566 hectares.

Glenariff Forest Park, is situated amid the world famous Glens of Antrim, an area to which tourists have been coming for over a century.

Glenarm Forest, is probably one of the least known of the nine glens of Antrim.

Muckamore Forest, this small woodland is located on the north-eastern shoreline of Lough Neagh, between Antrim Marina and the site of the former Deer Park Hotel.

Portglenone Forest, this woodland provides an enjoyable recreational environment for all.

Randalstown Forest, extends to 172 hectares. It was acquired by Forest Service from Shanes Estate in 1934.

Castle

Slieveanorra Forest, an extensive area of conifer forest, located between the Newton Crommelin to Armoy and the Newton Crommelin to Cushendun roads.

Tardree Forest, this is a predominantly mixed coniferous forest with an extensive system of internal forest roads.

Woodburn Forest, an extensive area of predominantly coniferous woodlands adjacent to the reservoirs, near Carrickfergus.

21

Woodburn

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

COUNTY DOWN Annalong Forest, the Silent Valley reservoir lies adjacent to this forest.

Ballysallagh Forest, this is a predominantly conifer forest with an area of broadleaved woodland at Cairn Wood.

Belvoir Park Forest, is a working forest within a city. It is a vibrant forest with a variety of wildlife and a range of tree specimens within easy reach of Belfast's outer ring road.

Bohill Forest, a small conifer woodland just past Drumaness Village on the main road to Newcastle.

Castleward Forest, this forest is a mixed conifer and broadleaved woodland located near the village of Strangford.

Castlewellan Forest Park, encompasses 450 hectares of land lying to the north of the Mourne Mountains.

Clandeboye Forest, a mixed conifer and broadleaved woodland adjacent to Helen's Tower.

Donard Forest, lies at the foot of the Mournes and houses some of the most spectacular viewpoints taking in areas such as Newcastle and district, Dundrum Bay, St John's Point and Slieve Croob.

Drumkeeragh Forest, mixed coniferous forest offering extensive views across County Down.

Hillsborough Forest, mixed coniferous and broadleaved forest, within the walls of Large Park, once part of Hillsborough Demesne.

Mount Stewart Forest, a mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland located on the shores of Strangford Lough.

Hollymount Forest, a small mixed coniferous and broad-leaved woodland located on the flood plain of the Quoile River, near Downpatrick.

Mourne Forest, a mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland located on the shores of Strangford Lough.

Narrow Water Forest, this is a mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland located beside the main Newry to Warrenpoint Road overlooking Narrow Water.

Rostrevor Forest, on the edge of Rostrevor village covers an area of 1,700 hectares of which 1,000 hectares are planted with trees.

Tollymore Forest Park, covering an area of almost 630 hectares at the foot of the Mourne mountains, this Forest Park offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at nearby Newcastle.

22

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 COUNTY LONDONDERRY Aghadowey Forest, is a collection of four small woodlands just North of Garvagh.

Ballykelly Forest was purchased in 1910 and became the first state forest in Northern Ireland, when planting of 11 acres of douglas fir commenced in 1912.

Banagher Forest, this is a large coniferous forest mostly planted with sitka spruce on the peat covered slopes. Broadleaves and larches have been planted in the richer alluvium soils in the valleys.

Binevenagh Forest, these cliffs have been classified as an Area of Special Scientific Interest due to their geological and geomorphological features, and the corresponding vegetation.

Cam Forest, this forest consists mainly of conifer species such as sitka and norway spruce, larch and lodgepole pine set on the mountainside overlooking the Roe Valley.

Derrynoyd Forest, originally an estate owned by Judge Torrens in the 1700's.

Downhill Forest is a small mixed woodland of 83 hectares just inland from the North coast, near Castlerock.

Garvagh Forest, covering over 200 hectares, Garvagh Forest is situated on the outskirts of Garvagh, with trees from over 80 years old to those only planted at the turn of the 21st century.

Glenshane Forest, this is a 1,000 hectare mainly coniferous forest with a large area of heather moorland which lies along the Glenshane pass on the main road between Belfast and Londonderry.

Gortnamoyagh Forest, provides a rewarding experience for anyone wishing to enjoy scenic views and remote areas of forest.

Grange Park Forest, the B201 road leading to the Forest, correctly named as the Windyhill Road, is also known as the 'Murderhole Road' in recollection of the reputed activities of late 17th and early 18th century highwaymen who frequented the wider area.

Iniscarn Forest, is a small wood consisting of just over 130 hectares lying to the west of Desertmartin village.

Learmount Forest, covers 118 hectares of the foothills at the northern face of the Sperrin Mountains.

Loughermore Forest, is predominately an upland, coniferous forest covering over 1,340 hectares.

Loughermore East Forest, is a predominately coniferous forest covering approximately 340 hectares.

Moyola Forest, covers 47 hectares in two blocks, Moyola and Drumlamph, north of Castledawson.

Muff Glen Forest, is nestled in a valley, just half a mile south of Eglinton.

Somerset Forest, this wood is situated one mile south of Coleraine on the A54 Kilrea Road.

Springwell Forest, is a predominantly coniferous woodland situated in rolling landscape, between Coleraine and Limavady, overlooking the North Coast.

23

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

COUNTY ARMAGH Ballymoyer Forest, this is a coniferous wood on National Trust land. There is a pleasant woodland trail in this forest in Co Armagh.

Camlough Forest, located on the hills overlooking Newry.

Carnagh Forest, a small coniferous woodland near the village of Keady on the road towards Castleblayney.

Cold Brae Forest, a remote coniferous woodland near Newtownhamilton.

Drumbanagher Forest, a small predominantly coniferous woodland, managed in close proximity to a private estate near the village of Poyntzpass.

Fathom Forest, exceptional views over forest and Carlingford Lough.

The Fews Forest, this forest is divided into around 40 individual forest blocks and bisected by numerous public roads including, the Newtownhamilton to Keady Road.

Gosford Forest Park, comprises some 240 hectares of diverse woodland.

Loughall Forest, this is a mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland located beside the village of Loughall.

Seagahan Forest, a small coniferous woodland adjacent to Seagahan Reservoir.

Slieve Gullion Forest Park, this Forest Park is located on the side of a steeply rising mountain within the ‘Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.

24

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 COUNTY FERMANAGH Ballintempo Forest, close to Belcoo village this forest forms part of a forest area that stretches from Lough MacNean in the west to the shores of Lough Erne below the Magho cliffs in Lough Navar.

Belmore Forest, lies above the village of Boho and covers much of Boho mountain overlooking the county town of Enniskillen and providing vistas to the Fermanagh lowlands.

Big Dog Forest, this is a 1,097 hectare mainly coniferous forest. Management of the forest is focused on timber production, biodiversity and water quality.

Carnmore Forest is an upland predominantly coniferous forest that lies between Brookborough and Roslea.

Carrigan Forest, this forest forms part of the West Fermanagh Upland forests that stretches from Lough MacNean in the west to the shores of Lough Erne below the Magho cliffs in Lough Navar.

Castle Archdale Forest, the forest can be accessed from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) managed Castle Archdale Country Park.

Castlecaldwell Forest, this is a 200 hectare mixed broadleaved and coniferous lowland forest that lies along the shore of Lough Erne close to Belleek village.

Clabby Forest is a collective name for a number of forests that lie in close proximity to the B80 Tempo to Fintona Road.

Conagher Forest, this 1,060 hectare forest is part of the West Fermanagh Upland group of forests that stretches from Lough MacNean in the west to the shores of Lough Erne below the Magho cliffs in Lough Navar.

Crocknagrally Forest, is an upland predominantly coniferous forest that lies between Brookborough and Fivemiletown and can be accessed using the Alderwood and Mullaghfad Roads.

Derrylin and Nann Island Forest, is a small upland coniferous forest that lies at the foot of Doon Mountain.

Doon Forest, is an upland predominantly conifer forest that lies between Lisnaskea, Brookborough and Roslea.

Ely Lodge Forest, this 250 hectare of woodland which is situated four miles from Enniskillen lies along Lower Lough Erne.

Florence Court Forest Park, situated on the north east shoulder of Cuilcagh mountain, Florence Court Forest Park covers an area of 1,200 hectares. This old estate Forest and moorland adjoins the National Trust managed Florence Court House and property.

Garrison Forest, is a collection of forest blocks that are situated near Garrison village.

Grogey Forest, is an upland predominantly coniferous forest that lies between Lisnaskea, Brookeborough and Roslea.

Jenkin Forest, is an upland predominantly coniferous forest that can be accessed using the Alderwood and Mullaghfad roads from Fivemiletown.

25

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Kesh Forest, lies to the north and west of Kesh village and covers an area of 2,130 hectares.

Knocks Forest, is an upland predominantly coniferous forest close to Lisnaskea.

Lough Navar Forest, rises to the top of the Magho cliffs at a height of 304 metres and comprises over 2,600 hectares of primarily coniferous forest.

Marlbank Forest, is a small group of forests that includes the Cladagh Glen and the Marble Arch National Nature Reserve. It forms part of the UNESCO Marble Arch Caves global geopark.

Necarne Forest, is a 90 hectare mixed broadleaved and coniferous lowland forest that lies close to Irvinestown.

Pubble Forest is 95 hectares of predominately coniferous woodland.

Riversdale Forest is a 140 hectare low lying mixed broadleaved and coniferous forest.

Silees Forest is a collection of small predominantly coniferous forest blocks totalling 570 hectares that lies beside the Sillees River.

Spring Grove Forest is a 190 hectare predominantly coniferous forest close to Roslea Village.

Tully Forest is a 1,100 hectares primarily coniferous woodland that lies between Donagh and Roslea.

Tullychurry Forest covers 830 hectares of coniferous woodland with large areas unplanted for conservation purposes.

26

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 COUNTY TYRONE Aghyaran Forest, there are no formal recreational facilities in Aghyaran forest but walkers may use the existing road network to amble through this small woodland.

Altmore Forest, there are no formal recreational facilities in this forest but walkers may use the forest road that services this predominantly conifer forest.

Baronscourt Forest, this is an old estate forest which lies to the south-west of Newtownstewart.

Bradkeel Forest is a 140 hectare upland forest situated approximately 8 km from Plumbridge.

Caledon Forest, this forest comprises of multiple small blocks of woodland separated by minor public roads.

Carrickaholten Forest, this 515 hectare upland forest is situated some four miles from Killeter Village.

Castlederg Forest, this 41 hectare forest lies about three miles from Castlederg Village.

Cookstown Forest, this forest totalling 210 hectares comprises a number of forest blocks around the Cookstown area.

Creggan Forest, these are upland forests and timber production is the major objective for the planted areas.

Davagh Forest Park, ten miles north-west of Cookstown this 1,500 hectare forest is largely an upland coniferous forest set in the foothills of the Sperrins.

Drum Manor Forest Park, is a small yet varied and attractive forest estate located near Cookstown.

Dunmoyle Forest, this is an upland forest with a high proportion of conifers and some native broadleaved areas as well as open bog areas.

Fardross Forest, situated off the Fivemiletown to Clogher Road this upland forest covers 880 hectares.

Favour Royal Forest, consists of a a number of connected blocks of predominantly coniferous forests that lie close to the main A28 Augher and Aughnacloy Road.

Glenderg Forest, is a large upland coniferous forest and along with the adjoining Slievedoo Forest covers almost 4,000 hectares.

Goles Forest is a 420 hectare forest that lies to the west of Draperstown.

Gortin Glen Forest Park, is situated six miles North of Omagh at the Western gateway to the Sperrin Mountains.

Killens Forest, this is a small upland coniferous forest visible to the left, travelling from Omagh to Cookstown on the A505 Road, approximately seven km from Omagh.

27

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Knockmany Forest is a collection of woodlands that lies within six km of Augher Village.

Lack Forest is an upland forest consisting of 740 hectares of primarily coniferous woodland.

Ligfordrum Forest is a 620 hectare, primarily coniferous forest, situated on the Sperrin Mountains overlooking Strabane.

Lough Bradan Forest is a 2,115 hectare coniferous forest about five miles west of Drumquin.

Moneygal Forest is a 325 hectare coniferous and open habitat forest north west of Castlederg.

Moydamlaght Forest is a 300 hectare coniferous woodland on the slopes of Mullaghmore Mountain.

Mullaghfad Forest comprises over 1,700 hectares of predominantly coniferous woodland South East of Fivemiletown.

Parkanaur Forest Park is a mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland of almost 200 hectares, located 6.5km west of Dungannon.

Pigeon Top Forest is a 375 hectare coniferous forest between Ederney and Omagh.

Pomeroy Forest is a small but diverse woodland of 175 hectares on the Eastern edge of Pomeroy Village.

Seskinore Forest is a lowland forest of 135 hectares.

Slievedoo Forest is a large upland coniferous forest and along with the adjoining Glenderg Forest covers almost 4,000 hectares.

Trillick Forest covers 245 hectares of predominantly coniferous woodland.

Advertise here Your Company, Product or Service can feature here, see inside back page for details.

28

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

A Good Night, Night at the Museum Clare Ablett describes what goes on at the Ulster Museum behind closed doors.

Any visit to a museum as a child was always filled with wonder at all the strange and fascinating objects on display. But some of us were left thinking what happened to all those exotic artefacts when all the people had gone home and the museum was left in darkness. With the Ben Stiller film ‘Night at the Museum’, we saw some of our theories played out on the big screen and in my job as a visitor guide at the Ulster Museum I have lots of children (young and old) asking me if things come alive in the galleries at night.

Some of the visitor services team here decided to find out for

themselves by organising a sleepover in the museum for staff and their children after being inspired by the successful event put on monthly by the Natural History Museum in London. It was a big hit with everyone involved and it was decided to invite the public for the next one and see how our family of objects would contend with visitors staying past their bedtime.

29

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Families were put into different groups named after dinosaurs in our own museum and were told to set up camp in the Welcome area. After enjoying our big welcome, each group set off to their different activities. The fun continued until the magical hour of midnight and with only the light from our torches everyone waited to see if a triceratops would wander past. As early morning light strayed through the top windows of the building it appeared that the only low rumbling heard was not from the dinosaurs but was in fact the contented snoring of tired out mums and dads.

After

re-fuelling at breakfast, there was time for one more activity before we said farewell to our intrepid explorers.

Since then the event has gone from strength to strength with both the public and privately booked groups selling out.

Our range of activities has also increased so if you decide you are feeling

adventurous, who knows what you will see and do. Perhaps you will meet a relation of our famous Egyptian mummy Takabuti who will recruit you to help with the funeral rites and tell you about the rituals of Egyptian life. Or maybe a journey back in time to prehistoric Ireland; but be careful, because you never know who you might encounter. But you have to be prepared because you may end up at a recruitment office for World War I and those itchy uniforms aren’t comfy! But its not all about history as we have other activities to teach you all about; nature and the weird and wonderful animals that live in the wild. But if older animals are more your thing, then we have a fossil making activity where children can learn all about how fossils are formed and make a cast of a real ammonite to take home with them. One of the highlights for any budding palaeontologist is our torch-lit tour around some of the galleries. Can you find the clues to find all the dinosaurs?

So if you are feeling adventurous and want to take a trip back in time to discover what goes on in a museum after dark then you might want to check out the Ulster Museum in Belfast…if you dare!

The next sleepover will take place on the 2nd of March and is open to all who dare to brave the museum at night.

For details please contact the Ulster museum at 02890 440051 or check the

website at www.nmni.com.

30

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

In the second of two articles on traditional houses, Dr Rowan McLaughlin discusses their symbolic importance, intrinsic value and place in the landscape.

LESSONS IN A LOST LANDSCAPE

The Past in the Present Travelling through the countryside, we experience a landscape that has resulted from interactions between people and the environment over time. The human influence is particularly great in Ireland, where the agricultural history of recent centuries can be glimpsed almost everywhere (for example, see Figure 1). As a number of important works have shown, understanding the agricultural practices of recent centuries is therefore an intrinsic part of appreciating the landscape. The way in which domestic dwellings are distributed in the landscape is also an important factor in how the countryside takes shape. Last time, I argued that the abandonment of traditional rural dwellings represents an opportunity to study the reasons for site abandonment as an archaeological phenomenon. In this article the process is reversed: I want to look at contemporary settlement patterns in the countryside from an historical perspective, and discuss why understanding the past is critical to ensuring the continued survival of this delicate resource.

Almost heaven...

Because most of the countryside is under private ownership and not open to the public, our experience of the Irish countryside is as individual travellers upon the intensive network of country roads. For a start, the character of the countryside is often assessed by the perceived aesthetic values of a road... “this is a nice road” or “what a pleasant neighbourhood” are common observations. The paths roads take, and hence the journeys performed upon them, are influenced by an array of historical, social and geographical factors. Topography is often of least concern, as from a local scale, many rural roads in Ireland seem to defy all logic. They vary irrationally in width, zig‐zag or meander through completely flat terrain and ascend hills that could be avoided altogether. Two near‐parallel roads often exist where one would suffice; or sometimes frustratingly long journeys are required when a connecting road that should exist in logic fails to manifest in reality. Land‐ownership and access rights are often the reasons behind these patterns. Roads, being enclosed spaces (roads without boundaries are predominant around the world but very rare in Ireland), help to reinforce boundaries―both on a practical level, and in cognitive space. Roads are therefore central to concepts of land ownership;

they

exist as a means to connect territories both spaces

as

mutual

and

boundaries themselves.

31

as in

Figure 1: A typical scene of 18th century dwellings and 19th century cultivation ridges in 21st century Co. Down

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 Blight or Bliss?

Ireland, small as it is, has one of the highest total lengths of highways‐per‐capita of any country in the world. This is due to the network of small roads which exist to serve the low‐density, distributed pattern of dwellings that characterise the landscape. This pattern is of ancient origin. Even in Irish prehistory, despite some recently‐discovered and notable exceptions, most dwelling houses have been discovered in isolation or in very small groups. Indeed, urban living, a phenomenon that has revolutionised societies for millennia, took an unusually long time to catch‐on in Ireland; it was a concept imported by Viking settlers. Even today, a very significant number of households are isolated dwellings in the countryside―according to census results this is the predominant se lement type in most parts of the island.

Figure 2: “Bungalow Blight” at The Rosses, Co. Donegal. (Image by Yakshini, licenced under Creative Commons BY‐NC‐SA 2.0)

This distributed settlement pattern is at odds with some current thinking in rural planning, and has led to real problems in certain areas. The most visible difficulty with persisting with this tradition is the proliferation of “bungalow blight” in some places (e.g. Figure 2). Developers have been given free reign in some of the most scenic locations, and the resulting sprawl of houses is disastrous for both the environment and the landscape. However, much tension exists between various interest groups who promote such development on economic and social grounds and those who are more concerned with heritage or environmental issues, and wish development to be more rigorously controlled. The planning authorities seem caught between the two viewpoints, and definitive solutions have proved elusive. In Northern Ireland, rural planning has become a political “hot potato” in recent years; the strict regulations governing the buildings of one‐off dwellings have become electoral issues.

The overall trend, however, is for an acknowledgement that indiscriminate building throughout the countryside causes social problems and pressure on infrastructure, and is to be discouraged in favour of more centralised development. It is seldom mentioned that centralised development has always been a marginal pattern in Ireland, especially compared to Britain and many European countries.

32

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 In terms of the landscape, and according to the supposed to recall the vernacular cottage. However, ideologies of people who live in the countryside, a

the scale and siting of these new buildings is often

distributed settlement pattern is the traditional

vastly at odds with any indigenous approach. Suburban

approach. Two centuries ago, more people lived in the

prototypes, large floor plans and alien building

Irish countryside than do so now. It therefore seems

materials all enable these buildings to exist without any

doubtful that a move towards centralised settlement is

real reference to traditional building paradigms. Most

the appropriate answer for the peoples and damaging of all is the power of hydraulic earth‐moving landscapes of rural areas.

machinery, which allows for the immediate landscape

to be remodelled according to the whims of fancy;

Return of the Vernacular

nowadays houses may be sited virtually anywhere,

This simplistic standpoint does not acknowledge a number of factors that also influence building in the countryside; falling household sizes, vacant properties, holiday homes and changes in the agricultural economy all play a prominent role in debates over the future of countryside housing. Less debated, however, is the potential role of traditional vernacular buildings in halting or reversing the decline in countryside

despite how insensitive a chosen location may be in the context of its surroundings.

This is strongly at odds with the benefits of a traditional approach to housing. As Professor E. Eystn Evans wrote, in his introduction to the 1978 edition of Mourne Country:

but structurally sound. Their aesthetic qualities are

“...the very poverty which restricted the importation of ‘foreign’ building materials resulted in an ecological rightness in the houses and buildings of the countryside, which are generally carefully sited, low‐built, small‐windowed and neatly trimmed to meet the sweep of wind and weather.”

At a time when “ecological rightness” has assumed a

often held in high‐regard. Indeed, a paradox exists

new importance around the world, it would perhaps be

quality that newly‐built single dwellings have threatened.

As I discussed last time, many of these buildings still exist in the landscape; indeed many are abandoned

with regards to the buildings. On one hand, they are

timely to look at traditional buildings more closely

seen as an intrinsic part of the landscape; they appear

when making decisions about housing in the

on postcards, television adverts and in tourists’ countryside. It is indeed curious that, in Northern brochures. However, they are also deemed as old and Ireland, the removal of many old houses was actually backward structures by many. This perhaps reflects a

funded by generous housing executive grants, as part

folk memory of the social and economic conditions

of schemes to improve standards in rural housing.

during the times when cottages were built (from the

Unfortunately the motives behind replacing dwellings

seventeenth to mid‐nineteenth centuries) which were,

can seem almost whimsical. In 1998 the Ulster by modern standards, very poor indeed. Social Architectural Heritage Society held a conference on the inequality was enormous, and the rural poor were future of rural buildings in Ulster. In the conference’s oppressed by their employers and landlords. proceedings, Caroline Maguire expressed the problem Travellers to Ireland widely reported this, and they and succinctly: other outside commentators could not agree whether this was the fault of the ruling aristocracy, or a natural

“The removal of these buildings, which may have a

deficiency in the Irish peasants themselves.

history of far greater complexity than a cursory

inspection of their fabric reveals, is often required

And so, haunted by a fear of poverty and in the name

because they fail to meet the eight points of fitness

of progress, many vernacular buildings have been

such as the sequence of worktop/sink/worktop/cooker

replaced with more modern houses. These buildings

etc. This amounts to the wholesale clearance or

are often greatly compromised architecturally as

removal of an entire layer of our heritage.”

regulations insist on a general bungalow format that is 33

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 Lessons in a Lost Landscape The unwritten; indeed unspoken history of rural Ireland in recent centuries does not feature prominently in discourses about Irish history and politics. Yet, as the poet Seamus Heaney points out in a number of his works, a sense of prehistory has always existed, in silence, alongside historical narratives. The countryside contains little evidence of the battles, rebellions and treaties that continue to preoccupy our constructs of Irish identity. This is in stark contrast to the landscape itself, which is vividly thronged with the physical remains of a vernacular, traditional world; a way of life that could celebrate continuity from the stone‐age to the 21st Century.

Traditional things tell us about the world in a way that historical sources cannot. They should not be lost because of transient economic circumstances, fashions or a generalised non‐specific fear of the old. Buildings, and their distribution in the landscape, express people’s interactions with the environment most eloquently. As it stands, however, we must fear that the countryside is on a self‐destructive course at present. Distributed settlement may well be tradi onal and reflected in road infrastructure―hence the way the landscape is perceived. But new buildings have had so many negative impacts on the integrity of the countryside that few could argue that they provide a sustainable answer to the demand for rural housing. The answer, to me, seems to point towards a return to traditional houses. I mean that literally; thousands of these buildings could be restored and updated for modern needs, which would be a very valuable exercise if best practices (such as reversibility and clarity) were followed.

Even if this were impossible, new buildings must take many more cues from traditional building materials and practices. In doing so, we would be able to continue to celebrate the special character of the Irish landscape long into the future. In a world that valued the past unequivocally, this would be common practice.

The Irish landscape is currently being ravaged by the fallout from an economic recession caused by a burst speculative property bubble. Ghost estates proliferate and unfinished or uninhabited new‐builds can be found in abundance. It is not comforting to think that even in a derelict state, traditional buildings often appear more pleasing and less obtrusive than these latter‐day constructions... alas, how dreadful will these new buildings appear to our grandchildren’s generation?

Text and Figure 1 copyright Rowan McLaughlin 2012 Email: r.mclaughlin@qub.ac.uk

Advertise here

Advertise here

Your Company, Product or Service can feature here, see inside back page for details.

Your Company, Product or Service can feature here, see inside back page for details.

34

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

The Games People Play Ross Bailey, IAR Experimental Director, takes a look at ancient board games and discovers that the same rules still apply Many experimental/reconstructive archaeology projects and pastimes, whilst fun and informative, often involve something of a risk, whether major or minor, often involving lacerations, burns, breakages, and generally a fair amount of swearing when something goes wrong. The following game may in a modest way achieve some of the same goals of experimental and reconstructive work – giving us another small window into the potential mindsets of our ancestors ‐ whilst involving considerably less bodily harm. Games are a ubiquitous feature of every culture, and reflect back upon those cultures and the individuals that chose to play each particular game. This article introduces one of those games from our own history – brandubh.

Of the wide variety of board games popular today, one style which seems to have slipped away somewhat is the 'hunt based' game. As opposed to a battle between two sides of equal size, such as chess or draughts, or a race between two or more sides, snakes and ladders, ludo, or backgammon, hunt based games consist of a smaller side trying to reach an objective whilst evading a larger side. Fox and Hounds is a simple example, played on a draughts board with one Fox,

Replica of a Bandubh board

able to move in any direction, attempting to reach the far side of the board, from which four Hounds (able only to move down the board) are advancing. The tafl games, so popular with the Vikings, and their variants are also hunt games with a larger force hunting a kingpiece and his guards as they try to escape from the centre of the board. Many old board games of strategy and skill are popularly linked, whether realistically or not, with cunning on the battlefield and, as with chess, the pieces take on the appearances of soldiers and nobility. It is an interesting aside to wonder whether the proliferation of tafl games, with a heavily outnumbered king escaping pursuers, and their eventual replacement by even‐sided games such as chess and draughts, is reflective of a change in either tactical mindsets and attitudes, general popular mindsets and attitudes, or even actual military practice.

Brandubh (Raven Black) is the name given to an Irish variant of one of the hnefatafl (King's Table) family of games that were most prevalent throughout western Europe in the 7th to 10th centuries AD, with boards found dating to between the 10th and 12th centuries. Eventually supplanted to an extent by chess after the 12th century, the tafl games shared a common theme – a kingpiece in the centre of the board, surrounded by a small group of followers, surrounded and outnumbered by hostile forces. The objective was to either guide the king to a safe escape on one of the corner squares, or prevent the escape of the king, depending upon the side played.

35

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 What is known of the Irish variant, Brandubh, is mostly known through the few surviving boards found, and a few scattered references to the game in Irish poetry of the 12th to 16th century which speak of a branán (a common term for chief) and his band of four, and “five men of white silver and eight of gold”. The boards themselves seem to vary little in layout – either a 7 x 7 grid, or a 6 x 6 grid with the game played on the intersections of the lines rather than on the squares. The quality and workmanship of the boards discovered ranges from high quality boards, exemplified by the ornately carved wooden board from Ballinderry Crannog 1 in County Westmeath, to what seem to be 'throwaway' graffiti boards roughly carved into stones and later discarded, much like the double‐sided board found during excavations at Cathedral Hill in Downpatrick. It seems likely that the game was played by high and low classes alike given the differences in quality of the boards, though whilst the graffiti boards seem to be carved as needed and discarded, the Ballinderry board at least seems to have been made with portability in mind. The heads protruding from two opposing sides of the board seem to have been intended for use as handles, suggesting portability was a concern, but also allowing two players to hold the board between themselves where flat or unstable surfaces were unavailable. In common with many modern travel games, the Ballinderry board was laid out with holes for pegged pieces, rather than a plain grid for counters.

Replica coins used as counters on the game board.

The exact rules for brandubh are unknown, as are those for hnefatafl in general. The closest record to the actual rules for hnefatafl were recorded by Carl von Linneaus in his diary of his travels through Lapland in 1732. The game he records and sketches the board for, closely resembles known hnefatafl and brandubh boards, save for having a 9 x 9 layout. The king sits in the centre, protected by eight Swedes and attacked by sixteen Muscovites. Those that follow are assembled from a variety of sources – the rules that Linneaus records, those suggested by Walker for adapting the common Tablut and tafl rules to the brandubh board, and much practice and playtesting on the past of the author, both with and without the addition of mead for added authenticity. Whilst it cannot be claimed that the following rules definitely represent the most likely style of play, they do represent a relatively balanced style.

Experimentation is encouraged though, particularly with players of opposing skill levels – changing the method of capturing the branán to surrounding on all four sides will swing the odds greatly in the favour the the defender, whilst allowing the centre square, once vacant, to count as a friendly square for the purposes of capture, will make the job of the attacker that much easier. In games where the balance is noticeably in favour of one side or the other good practice, and good manners, would suggest the players take turns at each side and count a game as consisting of two rounds, swapping sides between.

36

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

How to Play

Set‐up Brandubh is played on a 7 x 7 grid, with the Chief's Space in the centre, and the four corners for his escape marked with an X (Fig 1).

Figure 1

The initial set‐up is shown in Figure 2, the Branán (the piece marked with an X) in the centre, surrounded by his guards, with eight enemy pieces arrayed against him.

Figure 2

Movement All pieces, including the Branán, move like rooks in chess – they may move any number of pieces horizontally or vertically (see Figure 3), but may not move over another piece. Only the Branán may enter the corner squares, and only the Branán can sit in the centre square, though once he leaves it he may not re‐enter it. The centre square can be moved over as normal though (for a more challenging game for the attackers, have this centre square block movement).

Figure 3

37

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Figure 5

Figure 4

Capturing Enemy pieces, including the Branán, are captured by being surrounded on opposing sides (Figure 4) by two friendly pieces, the corner squares also count as friendly for this purpose (Figure 5).

An enemy piece may, however, land between two friendly pieces and remain safe (Figure 6). Depending on the difficulty level desired, the corner pieces can also count as friendly for the purposes of taking the Branán, despite the fact that they are technically empty squares for him.

Figure 6

Replica Brandubh board made from leather

38

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

The Experimental Archaeology Conference Past History and Recent Developments

Ruth Fillery‐Travis discusses the benefits of the experimental archaeology conference series

Experimental archaeology seeks to answer questions about the past by replicating and examining practices and objects attested in the archaeological record. Experimental approaches have been applied most widely to prehistoric cultures, where archaeological evidence is considered scarce, but it can and is being utilised to answer questions concerning the wide sweep of human history. Wherever the use or creation of an object, the practical undertaking of a process, or formation of a deposit is unclear, experimental archaeology can be used to test theories, replicate known aspects, and widen the evidence base for interpretations. The replication of objects and processes is also used extensively across the museum sector as an education and engagement tool, often involving modern craftspeople that have researched and developed replica processes.

Whilst experimental archaeology gained a name and identity in the 1960s, and saw an expansion of academic interest during the 1980s, there had been no conference in the UK dedicated solely to this approach. Though there are some meetings operating on the continent, attendance at these is often beyond the means of researchers, museum professionals, and craftspeople. Within this setting, the conference had its beginnings in a single day workshop organised at UCL, London, in 2006. The aim of the meeting was to provide a forum for people working within experimental archaeology to discuss their current work, and it began a tradition of attracting not just established academics but also students and independent researchers. From this workshop grew the now roughly annual Experimental Archaeology Conference, which recently had its 6th meeting in York.

39

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

As with all previous conferences, the 2012 meeting was hosted by an academic institution, in this case the Archaeology Department of York University, which is situated in the beautiful late medieval Kings Manor building just outside the historic city walls. This academic context led to a predominance of papers discussing scientific experiments, with nine out of twelve presentations taking this approach. The standard of these was generally high: of particular note was Spiteri’s work on recreating residues on prehistoric cooking pots, which argued that vegetable residues were unlikely to survive even if extensively used, and Chu and Thompson’s innovative abrasion of lithics within an annular flume to demonstrate no macro‐ or micro‐scopic difference between the abrasion of bedded or free‐moving flints in fluvial systems.

Whilst there were some commercial archaeologists and museum professionals among those attending the conference, most attendees were academics. As a result the two final papers by Fillery‐Travis and Wood, raising the issues of defining who we consider to be experimental archaeologists and how we measure the impact and engagement with our discipline respectively, produced limited debate. It was disappointing that although practical demonstrations were a feature of the second day, there were few craftspeople formally present at the conference as attendees. Their involvement in discussions would have brought wider perspectives to the debate, and better contextualised some of the work presented.

Despite these limitations the meeting stands out amongst many archaeology conferences for the enthusiastic and approachable nature of its attendees, and the open and un‐bureaucratic nature of its organisation. The welcoming nature of the conference is a direct reflection of the vibrant nature of the experimental archaeology community, with many new friendships made over a pint in the evening. Following the success of this 6th edition of the conference, myself and colleague set up a website to archive abstracts and posters from the series, and to act as a portal for news on the upcoming 7th conference (http://experimentalarchaeology.org.uk/).

Anyone interested in the conference or the type of work undertaken by experimental archaeologists is encouraged to visit, and feedback is gratefully received.

It is hoped that those papers from the 6th Conference reporting scientific work will be published as a special addition of the Springer journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences in December 2012, and that we will see a 7th Conference, possibly in Cardiff, before January 2013. This conference is not limited to British contributors and represents a fantastic opportunity for practitioners and archaeologists of all kinds to communicate their work to a wider audience and see examples of what experimental archaeologists are currently working on. I recommend anyone, whatever methodology they utilise, to consider submitting an abstract at the next call for papers. It is my personal hope that the growing profile of the conference will encourage experimenters from outside academia to attend, and the conference itself will continue to expand and embrace a wider audience.

40

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

Gavin Donaghy, IAR Technical Director, looks in his front room and finds the future of archaeological illustration

I have been keeping an eye on digital technologies over the past few years and in that time I have noticed a growing interest in 3D scanning technologies.

Until recently, this technology has been very expensive and inaccessible to the amateur archaeologist. Is this technology an affordable and useful tool or just an interesting gadget? I'll be examining a number of new 3D techniques and experimenting with an inexpensive setup of my own to be seen if you can play around in three dimensions yourself.

With the advent of Makerbot it is now possible to build your own 3D printer; you can purchase one from £600 and print in several mediums, from plastic and clay to icing sugar. This gave me the idea of possibility of scanning an archaeological artefact and storing it digitally so it can be reproduced using a 3D printer in the event of the artefacts

The Makerbot

destruction.

It would appear that a top of the line 3D scanner will cost around £1,900 from NextEngine, and this will scan anything in amazing detail and enable you to reproduce anything you like on a 3D printer. The lowest price kit that I could find was one from David Laserscanner from £340; it contains a laser, a webcam and a full version of their software to let you manipulate your images once you have scanned them. Both scanning sets were great and would do exactly what I thought they could for their price ranges, but I wanted to build my own kit to see what the technology was capable of and what you could do on a very small budget.

41

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012 I looked around the internet for processing software to render my 3D images from my scans and found that the David Laserscanner software is free to try (it unlocks higher resolutions and more scanning options for the full version) and had the nicest looking results straight out of the box. I then started to look at the technological

requirements

of

the

scanning software and after exhausting the internet forums discovered that all I needed was a HD webcam and a line laser. The HD webcam that I purchased was a Logitech C910 HD Webcam; it had received great reviews and cost around £60. The laser component needed to produce a line as opposed to the dot of light you see in a laser pointer. I found

The Equipment

that you could purchase a line laser on

Ebay for £10 and added it to my kit. In all, including wood that I used to build an area to do the scanning and a Lazy Susan for rotating my object, the whole kit came in at under £100.

The Scanning When I set up my kit and printed out the backgrounds that I needed so that the camera would know the distance and position of the scanning laser I was ready to start. The technique they recommend with the software I chose was to set up the equipment in a dark room (so the laser shows bright on the webcam), slowly pass the laser beam over the artefact until you can see the scan is complete then rotate the object and repeat.

The results I got from following the David Laserscanner instructions were immediate and stunning, the texture and detail looked great through the live feed displayed on my desktop. I wanted to try and scan everything immediately; the cat and my fiancée Rachel were all suitable candidates in my head when I had got it working. The most successful test that I performed was on a human skull that an oesteoarchaeologist friend of mine asked me to try and scan. The scan showed a great amount of detail and made me think that there could be a real possibility for 3D scanning as a possibility for post excavation analysis. For spending under £100 on a basic kit and achieving excellent results that with a 3D printer would print out a reasonable facsimile of an artefact.

3D Scanning in the front room

42

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012 In conclusion, I believe 3D Scanning to be a viable option to store information about artefacts. We can save precise information about not only the dimensions of an object but also textural information and then replicate the artefact in the event of its destruction. With regards to Human remains this technology could be a non‐invasive way to analyze remains, or even email the scan of a bone to someone on the other side of the world and they could print it out themselves and give you a second opinion. In short this was a fun and interesting experiment and if you have a spare £100, even in these difficult financial times, that you should give it a go. As archaeologists we should attempt to explore this new technology and work out how it can improve or change how we record artefactual remains.

Results using the DIY 3D Laser Scanner

Useful Links: http://www.david‐laserscanner.com/ http://www.makerbot.com/ http://www.nextengine.com/

43

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Jan 2012

Lottery Boost for Belfast Hills In the first issue of our magazine, we featured the new and exciting archaeology project in the Belfast. In December 2011 the Belfast Hills Partnership programme received some great news.

Northern Ireland’s natural heritage has received a huge boost today after the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed the award of a £1.15million grant for the Belfast Hills.

Last year HLF endorsed the Belfast Hills Partnership’s initial proposals for their Landscape Partnership (LP) scheme, and following twelve months of detailed planning and development the full award has now been secured.

The LP programme acts as a catalyst to bring communities and organisations together to form partnerships that create a shared vision and help implement local action for the conservation and management of our landscape heritage. Each LP scheme contains a portfolio of projects that provide long term social, economic and environmental benefits for the areas.

Commenting on the announcement, Head of HLF NI, Paul Mullan, said: “We are delighted to announce this grant award which is such wonderful news for the Belfast Hills. The new LP scheme will enable local communities to rediscover and engage with the heritage on their doorstep, and by connecting a host of interested parties the long term future of this heritage asset can be secured.”

The Belfast Hills LP scheme comprises over 5,000 hectares of broad, rounded hills which frame the communities of Belfast, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Antrim. The public sites within the area include Divis and Black Mountain, Cave Hill Country Park, Colin Glen Forest Park, Carnmoney Hill and Slievenacloy nature reserve. The area is subject to a high number of designations due to its significant heritage value and is home to 19 scheduled monuments and numerous archaeological features.

Twenty‐nine individual projects will run across the four year LP scheme, which will help to protect, increase access to and understanding of this outstanding local landscape. It will bring together local residents, community groups, landowners and statutory agencies to develop and implement a plan for the area which focuses on the natural, built, cultural and social heritage of the Hills.

Projects to conserve and restore the built and natural heritage features include initiatives to control invasive species, map wildfires and enhance the grassland and farmland habitat to improve the biodiversity and landscape. New access routes will be installed and existing routes upgraded to increase access to the Hills and the local community will be encourage to become involved in a series of events and activities to engage them with the heritage of the area.

New skills and development opportunities will also be provided in subjects as diverse as landscape photography, biological surveying and tourist guide training. Community archaeology digs – like the recent one at Cave Hill ‐ will take place as well as efforts to improve facilities at the five public sites. Work on the ground should start early next year.

44

Irish Archaeological Research Issue 2 Feb 2012

Welcoming the award, Belfast Hills Development Manager, Dr Lizzy Pinkerton, said: “The Landscape Partnership Scheme will be the impetus for an ongoing process of growth and development that will result in a sustainable legacy for our landscape and its people. We would like to thank our partner organisations who have provided vital support and guidance during the development of this project.”

Additional funding for the LP scheme has been provided by a host of organisations including the NI Environmental Agency, the Rural Development Programme and Belfast, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Antrim councils.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said: “I warmly welcome this project and am pleased that the Department of the Environment is able to contribute to it through Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The Belfast Hills Partnership is to be commended on having the vision to make this project a reality. It will make a real difference by protecting and managing the hills landscape over looking Belfast through promoting the heritage of the Belfast Hills and giving local people a valuable opportunity to get involved in a wide range of activities.”

Note: Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. Since 1994 the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £146 million to projects across Northern Ireland.

www.hlf.org.uk

45

http://www.etsy.com/shop/IARShop

We sell replicas of archaeological artefacts, artefact based jewellery, historical games, and much more, all handcrafted by Ross Bailey.

All profits from our sales help to fund our community and membership based archaeological projects

Some of the items for sale

Arrowhead pendant on a sliver chain

Replica Dagger

Replica brandubh board made from leather

Adver tising Rates for 20 11-2012

DEMOGRAPHICS: Our magazine will be free to download from our website & Facebook page, both these outlets receive visits from around the world with the top 5 countries being: UK, Ireland, USA, Italy & Australia.

Our website & Facebook page receive about 9000 visits per month from these countries with further visits from the rest of Europe, Canada, Asia and South America.

Digital Interactive Advert (clickable links to your website)

Advertise in 1 issue: 1 4 page £300 1 2 page £350 Full page £450 Advertise in 4 issues: page £600 page £750 Full page £1000

1 4 1 2

_______________________________________________

Standard Advert

Advertise in 1 issue: 14 page £150 12 page £200 Full page £300 Advertise in 4 issues: 14 page £450 12 page £600 Full page £900

Dimensions & 1

/4 page = 123mm x 95mm

1

/2 page = 250mm x 95mm

Full page = 279mm x 216mm

This is a unique opportunity to advertise in the first free digital magazine of this kind which will focus on archaeology, history & cultural heritage in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Britain, Europe and the wider world. We have a wide readership ranging in age, profession and geographic location and you could reach these potential customers by advertising with us.

Publication Dates The magazine will be published 4 times per year, it will be digital and free to download from our website during the following times of the year.

Autumn ~ October Winter ~ January Spring ~ April Summer ~ July

Format

We accept the following file types: .doc; jpeg; tiff; gif

If you would like to advertise in the digital magazine please email magazine@irisharchaeologicalresearch.com