The Antikythera Mechanism
Via the IAI: ‘Astronomy Ireland are holding their monthly lecture on the 13th of September on the subject of the Antikythera Mechanism in Trinity College, Dublin. We are flying in Prof. Michael Edmunds from the UK who is one of the leading researchers on this ancient super-computer to talk to us. The Two Thousand Year […]
Talk: Crime Scene Investigation: Eyre Square
Billy will be giving a talk at the Galway City Museum on Saturday 23rd October, 2pm. Here’s the billing; Talk: Crime Scene Investigation: Eyre Square Between 2004 and 2006, during excavations, a number of skeletal remains were unearthed at Eyre Square, dating from a period before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans to late Victorian era. […]
SMR / RMP / RHM ….. WTF!!!
The legislation The principal components contained within each act/amendment are listed below. The National Monuments Act 1930 Protects National Monuments Makes it a legal requirement that people report the discovery of archaeological objects Restricts export and prohibits injury to archaeological objects The National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1954 Makes it possible for the Commissioners to undertake […]
Reach the Future through the Past
Via Brian Dolan at www.seandalaiocht.com One day conference announcement: Reach the Future through the Past The County Museum, Dundalk, is hosting a one-day conference, Reach the Future through the Past, on Wednesday 25 August 2010. The conference will explore the use of innovation in a heritage setting, and will examine new ways of promoting concepts […]
Funded MSc in Archaeological Science at I.T. Sligo.
From Sligo IT – Funded MSc in Archaeological Science at I.T. Sligo. Topic: GIS and predictive modelling as a tool for the identification of caves of archaeological significance in Ireland Supervisor: Dr. Marion Dowd. Further information and the application form, please consult: http://itsligo.ie/research-innovation/research-welcome/presidents-bursaries-awards/ Closing date: 12 noon, Friday 27th August 2010 Dr. Marion Dowd, Lecturer […]
When On Google Earth 100
Moore Group is delighted to present When On Google Earth 100 after Declan solved Ferhan’s When on Google Earth 99(which was Erebuni Fortress in Yerevan, Armenia). Started by Shawn Graham back in January 2009, the game owes it’s origins to a geological game (Where on Google Earth) which has been around for a little longer. Shawn […]
When on Google Earth 95
As Declan solved When on Google Earth 94 (WhenonGE) at Ferhans Blog, here’s WhenonGE 95… Here’s the rules again: Q: What is When on Google Earth? A: It’s a game for archaeologists, or anybody else willing to have a go! Q: How do you play it? A: Simple, you try to identify the site in the […]
Draft Landscape Conservation Area for Tara Skryne
Just in from Meath County Council via the IAI: Draft Tara Skryne Landscape Conservation Area Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (4) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 that Meath County Council has prepared a Draft Landscape Conservation Area for Tara Skryne. The Draft Landscape Conservation Area comprises of a written statement and a boundary map. […]
Ireland as a National Monument
Here’s the Republic of Ireland mapped in National Monuments. The term “national monument” as defined in Section 2 of the National Monuments Act (1930) means a monument “the preservation of which is a matter of national importance by reason of the historical, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest attaching thereto” (link). On the suggestion by […]
Meanwhile…
Two brief snippets today – WhenonGE (When on Google Earth) is still unsolved at Theoretical Structural Archaeology. For those who are unfamiliar with the game, It’s a game for archaeologists, or anybody else willing to have a go! The host posts a google earth image of an archaeological site, you try to identify the site in […]
Competition winner
Oh! And the winner of our competition is Southie Sham…. Unfortunately we feel his entry is unpublishable…. Suffice to say that his ‘find and replace’ was deemed ‘rude’ by the judges (but he was the only entrant). Well done Southie. A copy of Pete Brown‘s ‘Three Sheets to the Wind‘ and Julian Gough’s ‘Free Sex Chocolate – […]
Grave Robbing in Donegal
The story of the human remains recently discovered, and subsequently ‘dissappeared’ in Donegal, which we tweeted about the other day (http://twitter.com/mooregroup) has taken a bizarre twist. Yesterday they were handed back by an anonymous “amateur archaeologist“.The story broke on Wednesday last (see here –http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0428/donegal.html). In brief – in the process of delivering sand from a […]
Repost – In light of Obama’s proposed Visit to the Emerald Isle
In light of mounting expectation of a visit by the Leader of the Free World to his home here in Oyerland, we’re re-posting an oldie from the early days of the blog and the inauguration of the President of A-Merry-Ka. So here you are – for the Immediate Attention of the Obama Irish Tour organisers… […]
George III Half Penny
And in a follow up Virtual Museum post, here’s find No: 09E504:001 – also retrieved from the layer overlying the wheel pit floor in Raheen Mill was a George III halfpenny coin. These coins are similar in design to those of George II and were first issued in 1770 until 1775. There followed then a […]
Glass Stem fragment
As part of our ‘Virtual Museum‘ here’s artefact number 4. Find Number 09E504:002 (pictured above) was retrieved from a brown silty sand layer overlying the wheel pit floor in a mill building we recently excavated in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. This decorative piece of glassware recovered from a secure early context was found in association with […]
WhenonGE 84
Southie Sham solved When on Google Earth 83 (WhenonGE) at Matt’s WOGE, so here’s WhenonGE 84… Here are the rules: Q: What is When on Google Earth? A: It’s a game for archaeologists, or anybody else willing to have a go! Q: How do you play it? A: Simple, you try to identify the site […]
WhenonGE 82
As Declan solved When on Google Earth 81 (WhenonGE) at seandalaiocht.com, here’s WhenonGE 82… So once again here are the rules: Q: What is When on Google Earth? A: It’s a game for archaeologists, or anybody else willing to have a go! Q: How do you play it? A: Simple, you try to identify the […]
Cahercommaun Fort, Co. Clare
We selected Cahercommaun Fort for WhenonGE 80 which was identified by Brian Dolan at Seandálaiocht. So here’s a little more info on the site. The fort is well known and is an inland cliff-top fort in state ownership. It comprises a roughly circular stone enclosure perched on a cliff edge with two concentric outer enclosing […]
Tara Symposium
Via the IAI: Tara – From the Past to the Future hosted by the UCD School of Archaeology will take place this weekend in the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies. Featuring forty papers by an international group of scholars, the symposium promises to be the most extensive review of the archaeology of Tara […]
Dining and Dwelling Part 4
Part four of Dining and Dwelling publication (Part one here, part two here and part three here) CONCLUSION So, what is the evidence for brewing? First, the experiment worked. Fermentation caused by wind-blown yeast even occurred in the leftover mash in the trough within a few hours. Secondly, a number of quern-stones have been found […]
Dining and Dwelling Part 3
Part three of Dining and Dwelling publication (Part one here, and part two here) Our first brewing experiment was carried out at Billy’s home in Headford, Co. Galway, in August 2007. In an effort to make the experiment authentic the equipment had to be basic. For the mash tun we used an old, leaky, wooden […]
Dining and Dwelling part 2
Part two of Dining and Dwelling publication (Part one here) THE GREAT MYSTERY OF PREHISTORIC BREWING. In prehistoric times until the late Iron Age, metallurgy was limited to small hand tools and high-status items. Throughout prehistoric Europe one of the main challenges for the brewer (in the absence of suitable metal containers) was heating large […]
Dining & Dwelling
Last year Billy and Declan gave a presentation at the National Roads Authority’s annual archaeology seminar about the fulacht beer theory. You can see a video of the presentation here. The resultant monograph Dining and Dwelling has just been published by the NRA and is available through bookshops or directly from Wordwell Book Sales, Wordwell Limited, […]
My Summer Holidays by Billy Quinn aged 41 and a half.
Following a recent excursion to Belgium to investigate German trench positions in the vicinity of the the village of Messines, Declan asked if I would post an entry describing my experiences …here it is. The excavations were directed by Martin Brown and Richard Osgood, two archaeologists working with the Defence estates in England. Both are […]
