Archaeological Archives as a Resource: Creation Curation and Access
A one day conference organised by the Royal Irish Academy Committee for Archaeology - download the programme here as a pdf
It is recognised that the process of excavation is destructive and described as the ‘preservation by record’ of our national heritage. Excavation records are critical to the continuing knowledge of Ireland’s past and may comprise paper records, surveys, photos, drawings, ecofacts, artefacts and reports. Current legislation requires that artefacts are deposited with the National Museum of Ireland. What happens to the remainder of the archive? This one-day conference explores this important question. Focusing on the paper archive, it proposes that archaeological archives are a crucial national heritage resource, worthy of continued curation, which should be accessible to all researchers of Ireland’s rich past. One of the outcomes of the conference will be the first policy document on best practice in archaeological archives in Ireland
23 February 2012
9.30am Registration
Session 1: Creation of the Archive
10.00am Welcome and Introduction by Dr Tracy Collins (Secretary, Academy Committee for Archaeology)
10.10am Dr Andy Halpin (National Museum of Ireland): The National Museum of Ireland Perspective
10.30am Mr Edward Bourke (National Monuments Service): The National Monuments Service Perspective
10.50am Questions and Answers
11.00am Coffee Break
Session 2: Curation of the Archive
11.30am Mr Anthony Corns (Discovery Programme): Digital Archaeology in Ireland: Experiences from the Discovery Programme and Potential Problems and Solutions
12.00pm Dr Phil MacDonald (QUB): The Long-Term Curation of Archaeological Archives in Northern Ireland: Problems and Solutions
12.30pm Dr Stuart Jeffrey (University of York): Surviving the Digital Dark Ages: Fifteen Years of Digital Archiving at the ADS
1.00pm Questions and Answers
1.30pm Lunch (participants to make their own arrangements)
Session 3: Access to the Resource
3.00pm Dr Ruth Johnson (Dublin City Council) Preservation of the Record, Dublin City Archaeological Archives: A Case Study
3.30pm Facilitated Discussion on Best Practice, (Facilitated by Dr Finola O’Carroll, Chair of the Institute of Archaeologists in Ireland)
4.15pm Professor William O’Brien (Chair, Academy Committee for Archaeology): Future Possibilities, Summation & Closing Comments
5.00pm Conference Close
6.00pm Reception hosted by Lord Mayor of Dublin and Tour of Dublin City Council Archive
Public Seminar: Revealing the Past 2011 – Archaeological Excavations in Ireland
Dgital composition of Kerbstone 15 at Knowth by Lloyd Graham. After Neil L. Thomas, Irish Symbols of 3500 BC, Mercier Press.
Venue: Academy House
Date: Thursday 13 October 2011
Time: 9.30am
Download the programme here
Since 1970, the Academy Committee for Archaeology has managed an annual fund provided by the National Monuments Service, which has financed over ninety excavations in Ireland. This is the only fund in Ireland for independent research excavation and has enabled scholars to make a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the past.
This public seminar, organised by the Academy Committee for Archaeology, aimed to showcase to wide general audience, the results of several recently funded excavations, and research projects with a particular emphasis on areas such as Understanding the Neolithic, ‘Landscape Approaches, Old and New Worlds and ‘History from Objects’
Statement from the Board of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, 18th February 2011
European Union pursues legal action while state reduces numbers of archaeologists engaged in regulation
The Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) notes with concern that the EU Commission has initiated a second legal action against the Government over its failure to adopt a farming environmental directive. In 2008 the European Court of Justice found that Ireland’s thresholds were too high for setting out when an environmental impact assessment is required for water management, irrigation and land drainage projects, and the restructuring of rural landholdings. Download statememt
Public Seminar: Revealing the Past: Archaeological Excavations in Ireland
Dgital composition of Kerbstone 15 at Knowth by Lloyd Graham. After Neil L. Thomas, Irish Symbols of 3500 BC, Mercier Press.
Friday 8th October 2010
Since 1970 the Academy Committee for Archaeology has managed an annual fund provided by the National Monuments Service, which has financed over ninety excavations in Ireland. This is the only fund in Ireland for independent research excavation and has enabled scholars to make a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the past. This public seminar, organised by the Academy Committee for Archaeology, aimed to showcase to wide general audience, the results of several recently funded excavations, with a particular emphasis on investigating key issues in prehistoric Ireland, as well as church sites, religious foundations and burial practice.
Welcome
10.00am Welcome by Professor William O’Brien, Chair, Academy Committee for Archaeology
Session 1 – Key Issues in Prehistoric Ireland
(Meeting Room – Professor Gabriel Cooney, UCD)
10.10am Dr Graeme Warren (UCD):
Excavations at Belderrig, Co. Mayo: Last Hunter-Gatherers and Early Farmers in Ireland
10.40am Professor Muiris O’Sullivan (UCD):
Excavations at the Knockroe Passage Tomb, Co. Kilkenny
11.10am Coffee Break (served in Members Room)
11.30am Dr Marion Dowd (IT Sligo):
Late Bronze Age Ritual and Ancient DNA: Excavations in Glencurran Cave, Co. Clare
12.00pm Professor William O’Brien (UCC):
Excavations at Cashel Hillfort, Co. Cork
12.30pm Questions and Answers
1.00pm Lunch
Session 2 – Church Sites, Religious Foundations and Burial Practice
(Meeting Room – Chair TBC)
2.00pm Dr Tomás Ó Carragáin (UCC):
Monastic Life at Toureen Peakaun, Co. Tipperary
2.30pm Dr Geraldine Stout (DoEHLG):
Uncovering a Medieval Cemetery at Knowth in the Boyne Valley, Co. Meath
3.00pm Coffee Break
3.30pm Dr Aidan O’Sullivan, Dr Graeme Warren and Dr Conor McDermott (UCD):
On the Tracks of Medieval Pilgrimage to Glendalough: Archaeological Excavations at Templeteenaun Church and Graveyard, Wicklow Mountains
4.00pm Mr Chris Read and Dr Thomas J. Finan (IT Sligo and University of St. Louis):
Excavations at the Bishop’s Seat Kilteasheen, Co. Roscommon
4.30pm Questions and Answers
5.00pm Conclusion of Proceedings
Find of a rare Viking necklace at archaeological dig conducted by Dr Marion Dowd and funded by the Academy Excavations Grants Scheme
Click on links to the The Irish Times and The Irish Independent for more details: