NRA research award
University of Bradford PhD student James Bonsall was selected as a finalist to present his research at the prestigious Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2012 Conference in Athens, Greece. The TRA is the largest surface transport research event in Europe, gathering together key stakeholders every two years. At the conference James presented his reappraisal of the use of archaeological geophysical surveys on Irish road schemes which forms a substantive part of a National Roads Authority Fellowship Programme Award led by Dr Chris Gaffney and Prof. Ian Armit. After an intensive presentation and interview James was awarded the silver medal in the 'environmental' pillar. The presentation was made by EU Commisioner for Research, Innovation and Science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.
NRA Head of Archaeology Rónán Swan said: "The NRA is delighted that James Bonsall has been awarded a silver medal for his doctoral research at this year's TRA conference in Athens. James' research into archaeo-geophysical surveying is critical not only for enabling the early identification of archaeological sites along national road schemes in a cost-effective manner but also creating for the first time in Ireland an empirical dataset which can help determine where and when archaeo-geophysical surveying may be successfully undertaken."
Dr Chris Gaffney said: “I am delighted that his research is ranked so highly by the Young European Arena of Research judges. James was selected as one of only 30 finalists from over 330 research students across Europe. This selection recognizes the project’s impact beyond the traditional archaeological community.”
For more information about this research project please click here.
Posted 25 April 2012
Dublin City of Science 2012
On 11–15 July 2012 international researchers, policy makers, business leaders and global media will gather in the Convention Centre Dublin to take part in Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF 2012). A science conference like no other, ESOF 2012 is unique in representing the largest convergence of the Sciences, Humanities and Culture in Europe in 2012 (click here for further information). To celebrate this prestigious, international event in Dublin, the City of Science 2012, a programme of science-related events and activities, will run throughout the year across the island of Ireland.
On 19 January 2012 the NRA Archaeology Section announced that the UCD School of Archaeology and the NRA were co-ordinating a special one-day event to take place in July during ESOF 2012. This event was to showcase the best of archaeological science in Ireland and beyond. Unfortunately, this event has been cancelled owing to scheduling difficulties.
The NRA Archaeology Section will, however, be contributing to the Dublin City of Science 2012 Public Engagement Programme by devoting its National Archaeology Seminar 2012 to the topic of archaeological science. The seminar will take place on Thursday 23 August at the City Wall Space, Wood Quay Venue, Dublin Civic Offices, Dublin 8.
If you would like to reserve a place at the forthcoming seminar please contact Ms Lillian Butler (lbutler@nra.ie; +353 1 6602511).
Posted 25 April 2012
Archaeological discoveries 'alongside the Suir'
The NRA is delighted to announce the publication of Cois tSiúire—Nine Thousand Years of Human Activity in the Lower Suir Valley. Excavations on the N25 Waterford City Bypass (NRA Scheme Monographs 8). Edited by James Eogan and Elizabeth Shee Twohig, this new book and accompanying CD present the results from over 60 significant archaeological excavations which revealed that humans have lived in this part of the Lower Suir Valley from the time of the earliest hunter-gatherers onwards. Among the discoveries were an early seventh-century AD vertical watermill at Killoteran, the earliest such mill yet identified in Ireland, and the internationally significant, ninth-century AD Viking settlement uncovered at Woodstown.
Cois tSiúire (‘beside or alongside the Suir’) contains excavation summaries written by the excavation directors, which are complemented by a series of specialist overviews that place the discoveries in their regional, national and international contexts. The authors demonstrate that from the earliest times the Lower Suir Valley was home to vibrant communities who were outward-looking and dynamic, and who benefitted from the natural advantages provided by the varied landscapes and resources available ‘alongside the Suir’.
Posted 21 December 2011
Excavations at Neolithic Tullahedy published
Archaeological Excavations at Tullahedy, County Tipperary: Neolithic settlement in North Munster, by Rose M Cleary and Hilary Kelleher, was launched in Nenagh Library on 8 December. The book, published by The Collins Press, describes excavations undertaken by University College Cork in 2006–7 in advance of the construction of the M7 Nenagh to Limerick motorway, on behalf of Limerick County Council and the NRA. It describes how and why a Neolithic community lived at Tullahedy close to the shoreline of Lough Derg almost 6,000 years ago. The abundant finds of stone axeheads, arrowheads, pottery, beads and pendants recovered here, as well as the valuable information derived from environmental analyses, add greatly to the national corpus of data on the Neolithic way of life.
The launch was well attended by locals and members of the local Ormond Historical Society and the County Tipperary Historical Society. The book was launched by the Leas Chaithaoirleach of Limerick County Council, Councillor Damien Riedy. Mayor of Nenagh, Councillor Virginia O’Dowd, also spoke on the night, along with Professor William O’Brien and Rose Cleary of the Archaeology Department, University College Cork. Archaeological Excavations at Tullahedy, County Tipperary retails in bookshops at €49.99 and can also be purchased online from The Collins Press website at €39.99.
Posted 20 December 2011
New issue of Seanda magazine
The latest edition (Issue 6) of Seanda, the NRA Archaeology Magazine, marks a new departure in how the NRA realises the knowledge value of the archaeological discoveries made on national road schemes. In the past we have distributed tens of thousands of hard copies around the country while making an electronic version (PDF) of each magazine available to download from the NRA website. However, given current financial constraints future editions of Seanda will now be solely available online, albeit with a number of functional enhancements to make the onscreen experience more interactive, user-friendly and enjoyable. This development is a pilot into online publishing and we would welcome your views on this new approach so as to gauge its success.
Issue 6, which features an updated design, is being made available as an interactive PDF. This means that you can navigate to the News section or any article by simply clicking on the title in the contents page and each page has a 'Back to contents' button at the bottom that returns you to the contents page when clicked. If a news item or article contains an internal page reference such as 'see p. 4' you can also navigate to the relevant page by simply clicking on that text.
You can view and download Seanda Issue 6 by clicking here.
Posted 16 December 2011
National Archaeology Seminar 2011
The 2011 NRA National Archaeology Seminar, entitled Encounters Between Peoples, took place on 25 August 2011 at the City Wall Space, Wood Quay Venue, Dublin Civic Offices. The seminar, one of a multitude of Heritage Week events held by various organisations throughout the country, sought to investigate contact with other peoples as a driving force behind societal change. Speakers were asked to address a number of questions on this theme with close reference to archaeological discoveries on Irish national road schemes over the last 10 years or more.
Can evidence of Ireland’s long history of conquest, colonisation and migration be traced in the archaeological record? How have trade, migration or imported ideas and technologies shaped changing human communities in our past? When in the past have different peoples shared the island? Speakers also adopted their own novel perspectives in response to the theme, in addition to those prompted by the questions posed above.
The full seminar programme can be viewed by clicking here. The proceedings of the Encounters Between Peoples seminar will be published by the NRA in August 2012.
Posted 10 November 2011
Latest NRA seminar proceedings
Past Times, Changing Fortunes, a theme reflecting current economic concerns, seemed an appropriate topic for last year’s NRA National Archaeology Seminar held at the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, on 26 August 2010. The speakers were invited to address the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence of how the fortunes of the Irish landscape and people have changed over millennia. The proceedings of the seminar were launched on 24 August 2011 by Professor Martin Carver (Editor of Antiquity and emeritus professor of the University of York), following his keynote address marking the 10th anniversary of the appointment of NRA project archaeologists (see news item below).
The new book, edited by Sheelagh Conran, Ed Danaher and Michael Stanley, is the eighth volume in the Archaeology and the National Roads Authority Monograph Series. Past Times, Changing Fortunes contains nine papers written by a range of archaeologists and specialists working in the private and public sector. The NRA greatly appreciates the time and commitment that the authors have given to the seminar and the subsequent publication, and would like to express its gratitude to them all.
Past Times, Changing Fortunes is published by the NRA and is available through bookshops or directly from Wordwell Book Sales, Media House, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18 (tel: +353 1 2947860; e-mail: helen@wordwellbooks.com).
Posted 28 October 2011
Archaeological investigation in the 21st century
On 24 August 2011 an invited audience of professional archaeologists and members of the public gathered at the City Wall Space, Wood Quay Venue, Dublin Civic Offices, for a keynote address delivered by Professor Martin Carver entitled Archaeological Investigation in the 21st Century: buying it, doing it and giving it status. In the space of an hour Professor Carver (Editor of the renowned journal Antiquity and emeritus professor of the University of York) set out an analysis of archaeological endeavour in over 20 countries across the world, focusing on the role of archaeologists, their methodologies, the scale and resolution of their inquiry and the theoretical basis of their work. Professor Carver also set out his vision for archaeology in the future, with the discipline becoming increasingly focused on science, knowledge and interpretation.
Furthermore, Professor Carver placed the archaeological work of the NRA within a global context, illustrating some key strengths of the NRA approach, including multi-vocal planning and design, extensive area excavation, in-depth analysis enlarging the research dividend, imaginative, people-friendly synthesis, and timely and accessible publications.
This keynote address marked the 10th anniversary of the appointment of project archaeologists by the NRA to manage archaeology on national road schemes. Over 2,000 individual archaeological excavations have been carried out on more than 80 road schemes in the intervening 10 years.
Posted 25 October 2011
Latest scheme monograph
In the Lowlands of South Galway, by Finn Delaney and John Tierney of Eachtra Archaeological Projects (above left), is the latest volume in the NRA Scheme Monographs series. The new book describes over 20 archaeological sites excavated on the route of the N18 Oranmore to Gort road scheme, which traverses a landscape in which human communities have come and gone for 10,000 years. The excavations are individually described in this book but the authors also try to understand the evidence from each period in its broad landscape setting and thus offer the reader a bird’s-eye view of life on the lowland plain of South Galway, from prehistory to modern times. This handsome new volume, accompanied by a CD containing the relevant final excavation reports and other technical information, was launched on 16 June 2011 by Professor Noël Wilkins (above right), current President of the Galway Historical and Archaeological Society.
In the Lowlands of South Galway is published by the NRA and is available through bookshops or directly from Wordwell Book Sales, Media House, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18 (tel: +353 1 2947860; e-mail: helen@wordwellbooks.com).
Posted 18 October 2011
Latest issue of Seanda magazine
The fifth issue of Seanda, the NRA archaeology magazine, was published in late August 2010 and a PDF version of the magazine is available to view and download from the NRA website, please click here. Hard copies of the latest edition have been distributed nationwide to all public libraries and secondary schools.
Copies of the magazine are also available upon request, please contact:
Lillian Butler, Archaeology Section, NRA, St Martin’s House, Waterloo Road, Dublin 4. Tel: +353-1-6658859. Email: lbutler@nra.ie
Posted 14 March 2011
____________________________________________________________________________
Peaks and troughs: two new archaeology publications
Creative Minds: production, manufacturing and invention in ancient Ireland, the seventh volume in the Archaeology and the National Roads Authority Monograph Series, was published at the end of August 2010. This new book, edited by Michael Stanley, Ed Danaher and James Eogan, contains the proceedings of the NRA National Archaeology Seminar held on 27 August 2009 at the Gresham Hotel, Dublin. The speakers at the Creative Minds seminar sought to examine, comprehend and celebrate the creativity of our ancestors, as evidenced by the many discoveries made on national road schemes. The resulting monograph examines the production of stone tools, pottery and textiles during prehistory; some of the earliest evidence for wheeled transport in Ireland; the manufacture of hand-bells at a monastic site and other metalworking processes during the later prehistoric and medieval periods.
In a recent review in British Archaeology Magazine, Dr Alison Sheridan of the National Museum of Scotland described the book as ‘Another welcome distillation of results from NRA-funded fieldwork, this attractive, lavishly-illustrated and accessible book … is full of fascinating nuggets and insights and will be of lasting value for researchers and the public alike ... the NRA is to be congratulated and encouraged to keep up its excellent work of dissemination’.
Of Troughs and Tuyères: the archaeology of the N5 Charlestown Bypass, the sixth addition to the NRA Scheme Monographs, was published in November 2010. This new book, written by Richard F Gillespie and Agnes Kerrigan, contains the results of excavations conducted by Mayo County Council on the route of the N5 Charlestown Bypass in counties Mayo and Roscommon. The excavated sites included settlement, funerary and industrial features of, variously, Neolithic, Bronze Age and early medieval date. As with the finds uncovered along other national road schemes in counties Leitrim, Galway and Sligo in recent years, these fascinating discoveries highlight the key role that the West of Ireland plays in the unfolding archaeological story of this island.
Creative Minds and Of Troughs and Tuyères are published by the NRA and are available through bookshops or directly from Wordwell Book Sales, Media House, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18 (tel: +353 1 2947860; e-mail: helen@wordwellbooks.com)
Posted 14 March 2011
back to top