NUI Galway, International Summer School, ACHILL ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL

The Achill Archaeological Field School is situated on Achill Island.  Achill is the largest of the Irish islands and is located on the north western side of Clew Bay, Co. Mayo.

The island has a complex Archaeological Heritage that includes sites and monuments that date from the Mesolithic period through to the Early Modern period. The Field School has been running since 1991 and much of its research has focused on the Deserted Village on Slievemore Mountain, and the archaeologically rich landscape in which the villages are located. The Deserted Village is particularly evocative monument consisting of the standing remains of over 80 houses dating to the 18 ^th and 19 ^th centuries as well as the gardens and field systems that the villagers cultivated.

Fieldwork to date has involved the complete excavation of two of the houses, various garden plots, a roadway running through the village and a curious semi-subterranean orthostatic structure. Work on the Deserted Village during 2009 will see the completion of the excavation of the second house, focusing on the entrance, the pathways that connected the house to the roadway and the adjacent manure pit.

Whilst Slievemore Mountain is most often associated with the Deserted Village, it is also a dense archaeological landscape in its own right, and known sites include five Megalithic Tombs, numerous Bronze Age Roundhouses, and a pre-historic co-axial field system. During 2008, one of the Bronze Age Roundhouses was excavated and found to have been truly monumental in scale, with massive 2 metre wide walls which survived to a height of up to 1.8 metres, and a complex orthostatic entrance reminiscent of Megalithic Tomb Architecture. During the 2009 season an adjacent Roundhouse is to be investigated and early indications are that the structure is equally as impressive as Roundhouse 1.

Achill Island was the last place in Ireland where the ancient practice of Transhumant livestock farming was carried out, continuing right up until the 1940’s. Transhumant Farming, or Booleying, involves moving to temporary settlements high up in the mountains during the summer in order to graze the cattle on land which could not be accessed during the winter. During 2009 the five known Booley Villages on Achill will be subject to intensive field surveys accompanied by small scale excavations. Interested students will have the opportunity to work on the 18 ^th Century Booley Houses overlooking Keem Bay, an area of outstanding natural beauty. 

Achill Archaeological Field School organises two summer programmes in association with the Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway, each comprising three distinct courses.  Courses cover the Basic Techniques of Archaeological Excavation and Recording whilst the longer courses include instruction on Digitising Plans, Electronic Surveying and Report Writing. Students at Achill Archaeological Field School receive significant amounts of personal tuition from leading Irish Archaeologists. In addition to fieldwork, a series of tours and lectures are presented which aim to develop the students understanding of the Archaeology of Achill Island and of Ireland as a whole.

Course Modules
Academic Coordinator:  Therese McDonald

- SU409 Introduction to Irish Archaeology  
  (3 semester credits / 6 ECTS credits)
- SU410 Archaeological Field Studies
- (3 semester credits / 6 ECTS credits)
- SU413 Data Analysis
  (3 semester credits / 6 ECTS credits)

Participants taking three modules are eligible for 18 Semester Credits (9 Semester Hours).

Programme Dates

• May 31 - July 9, 2010 (Module 1)
• July 1 - 23, 2010 (Module 2)

COntact

Further information from:  

Gary Linehan,
Achill Archaeological Field School,
Archaeology Centre,
Dooagh, Achill Island,
Co. Mayo.
Telephone:  +353-98-43564
Fax:           +353-98-43595
Email:         infoachill-fieldschool.com 
Webpage:   http://www.achill-fieldschool.com/

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