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Geography & Archaeology

Dr. Stefan Bergh


Contact Details

College Lecturer
------------------------
Room 215
Archaeology
Arts/Science Building
NUI Galway

T: Ext. 2052
E: stefan.bergh@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher

Biography

My main role within the Discipline of Archaeology is as Programme Director of the MA in Landscape Archaeology which I developed and has been running since my appointment at NUIG in 2000.  

I am a graduate of The University of Stockholm from which I received my Ph.D. in 1995. I first came to Ireland in 1978 as a student working on the excavations of the passage tombs at Carrowmore, Co. Sligo. My postgraduate research was focused on the Neolithic landscape of Cúil Irra, Co. Sligo, involving field walking programmes and excavations. My PhD thesis, Landscape of the Monuments was published in 1995. Between 1990 and 1998 I was employed by the Bureau of Archaeological Excavations, National Heritage Board, Sweden, first as an archaeologist and later as Senior Archaeologist working with the development of methodologies within development led archaeology. .

In 1998 I received a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship from the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Education (STINT). This research, The Knocknarea Archaeological Project, brought me full time to Ireland and focused on Knocknarea Mountain, Co. Sligo.  

In 2009 I received a Research Fellowship from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The project for which the fellowship was awarded, Knocknarea - the archaeology of a mountain, focused on the role and meaning of mountains and upland space in the Neolithic.

My main interest is in Landscape Archaeology in all its disguises, with an emphasis on the interaction between people and their natural environment in prehistory. I am especially interested in the relation between ‘ritual’/‘domestic’ roles of conspicuous places.  

Member of UNISCAPE
Representing NUIG at The Standing Committee of Archaeology, Royal Irish Academy
Member of the GIS Centre Committee at NUIG

Research Interests

My main research interest is focused on the interaction between people, place and landscapes in prehistory. My research has primarily been concerned with the Neolithic of Ireland, and especially with the role uplands and mountains have played in people's physical as well as mental landscapes. I have initiated several research projects addressing these aspects, focusing mainly on issues relating to domestic and ritual aspects of uplands and mountains. My main project, pursued over the course of a number of years, has been a study of the archaeology of Knocknarea Mountain, Co. Sligo, which has involved large scale surveys as well as targeted excavations of a Neolithic enclosure, Neolithic houses and lithic scatters, passage tombs as well as Neolithic quarrying sites. This project has been funded by the Royal Irish Academy, the HEA and the Heritage Council.

Another central research project involves a study of the large cluster of enclosures and circular house sites at Mullaghfarna, within the Carrowkeel-Keashcorran passage tomb complex in Co. Sligo. The first detailed survey of this, the largest cluster of prehistoric house foundations in Ireland, has just been completed (2015) and is prepared for publication in 2016. This project has been funded by the Heritage Council and the Royal Irish Academy.

A third research projects, linked to the two previous ones is a study of the ritual and domestic remains on Turlough Hill, in the Burren Co. Clare with its large cluster of houses, enclosures and cairns. Trial excavations financed by the Royal Irish Academy in two of the houses on Turlough Hill in 2016 (conducted by Ros OMouldain), will for the first time hopefully give some indications of the date of the activity on this extraordinary summit. This project is funded by INSTAR and the Royal Irish Academy.
 
Linked to my interest in the interaction between people, place and landscapes, I have a longstanding interest in prehistoric ritual monuments and their physical as well as mental role in the construction of place.
A recent project, Unpicking the Chronology of Carrowmore - together with Dr. Robert Hensey, focused on the chronology of the passage tombs at Carrowmore, Co. Sligo and involved 25 new AMS dates from this group of monuments. This project was funded by the NUI Galway Millennium Fund and the Heritage Council.

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
NEGOTIATING THE LANDSCAPE STEFAN BERGH 01-OCT-14 30-SEP-16
IRCHSS STEFAN BERGH KNOCKNAREA THE ARCHAEOLOGY 01-SEP-09 30-SEP-13
MF07-P16 AMS DATING OF BONE PINS-S.BERGH 01-DEC-07 19-JUN-09
DEPT OF ENVIRON KNOCKNAREA PROJ S BERGH 12-APR-04 31-DEC-13
HERITAGE COUNCIL MULLAGHFARNA S BERGH 12-APR-04 07-JUL-05
IRCHSS HEA 03 04 SRG S BERGH 12-APR-04 24-AUG-09

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2015) 'Where Worlds Meet. Two Irish prehistoric mountain-top ‘villages’'
Stefan Bergh (2015) 'Where Worlds Meet. Two Irish prehistoric mountain-top ‘villages’'. Il Capitale Culturale: studies on the value of cultural heritage, 12 :21-44 [Details]
(2013) 'Unpicking the Chronology of Carrowmore'
Bergh, S. & Hensey, R. (2013) 'Unpicking the Chronology of Carrowmore'. Oxford Journal Of Archaeology, 32 (4):343-366 [Details]
(1988) 'De första arkitekterna'
Bergh,S. (1988) 'De första arkitekterna'. Irland: Den Gåtfulla Ön Statens Historiska Museum, :23-29 [Details]

Books

  Year Publication
(1995) Landscape of the monuments A study of the passage tombs in the Cúil Irra region, Co Sligo, Ireland Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet Arkeologiska Undersökningar.
Bergh,S. (1995) Landscape of the monuments A study of the passage tombs in the Cúil Irra region, Co Sligo, Ireland Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet Arkeologiska Undersökningar. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2010) 'Black is the Colour Chert, Concave Scrapers and Passage Tombs'
Bergh,S. (2010) 'Black is the Colour Chert, Concave Scrapers and Passage Tombs' In: Materialitas Working Stone, Carving Identity Prehistoric Society Research Papers 3 Oxford: The Prehistoric Society and Oxbow Books. [Details]
(2003) 'Two stones make a line'
Bergh,S. (2003) 'Two stones make a line' In: Lost and Found Discovering Ireland's Past Bray: Wordwell. [Details]
(2002) 'Monuments of meaning Role and symbolism of passage tombs in Cúil Irra, Co Sligo'
Stefan Bergh (2002) 'Monuments of meaning Role and symbolism of passage tombs in Cúil Irra, Co Sligo' In: A celebration of Sligo, first essays for Sligo Field Club. Sligo: TASK. [Details]
(2002) 'Knocknarea- the ultimate monument Megaliths and mountains in Neolithic Cúil Irra, north west Ireland'
Bergh,S. (2002) 'Knocknarea- the ultimate monument Megaliths and mountains in Neolithic Cúil Irra, north west Ireland' In: Monuments and Landscape in Atlantic Europe London: Routledge. London: [Details]
(1997) 'Design as Message. Role and Symbolism of Irish Passage tombs'
Stefan Bergh (1997) 'Design as Message. Role and Symbolism of Irish Passage tombs' In: O Neolitico Atlantico e as orices do megalitismo. Santiago de Compostela, Spain: University Press Santiago. [Details]
(1997) 'Design as Message Role and Symbolism of Irish passage tombs'
Åkerlund, A., Nordblad, J., Taffinder, J., Gunborg, T. (1997) 'Design as Message Role and Symbolism of Irish passage tombs' In: O Neolítico Atlántico e as orixes do melalitismo Santiago de Compostella. [Details]
(1988) 'De första arkitekterna'
Bergh, S. (1988) 'De första arkitekterna' In: Irland: Den gåtfulla ön. Stockholm: Statens Historiska Museum. [Details]
(1984) 'The Hut Sites at Knocknarea South, Co Sligo'
Bengtsson, H. & Bergh, S. (1984) 'The Hut Sites at Knocknarea South, Co Sligo' In: The Archaeology of Carrowmore. Stockholm: Stockholms Universitet. [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(1990) Tibble. Arkeologisk förundersökning 1990. UV Stockholm Rapprt 1993:33.
Bergh,S. & Segerberg, A. (1990) Tibble. Arkeologisk förundersökning 1990. UV Stockholm Rapprt 1993:33. Riksantikvarieämbetet, Stockholm. [Details]

Edited Books

  Year Publication
(1996) Till Gunborg. Arkeologiska samtal.
Åkerlund, A., Bergh, S., Nordblad, J. & Taffinder, J (Ed.). (1996) Till Gunborg. Arkeologiska samtal. Stockholm: Stockholm Archaeological Reports 33. Stockholm University. [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2002) 'Death in Sight - Knocknarea and the identity of Neolithic Cuil Irra, NW. In: Stones and Bones. Formal disposal of the dead in Atlantic Europe during the Mesolithic-Neolithic interface'
Bergh, S. (2002) 'Death in Sight - Knocknarea and the identity of Neolithic Cuil Irra, NW. In: Stones and Bones. Formal disposal of the dead in Atlantic Europe during the Mesolithic-Neolithic interface' British Archaeological Reports International Series, 1201 . [Details]
(2000) 'Transforming Knocknarea'
Stefan Bergh (2000) 'Transforming Knocknarea' Archaeology Ireland, 14 (2) :14-18. [Details]
(1982) 'Gravfältet vid Uddvide i Grötlingbo'
Bergh, S. (1982) 'Gravfältet vid Uddvide i Grötlingbo' Gotlänskt Arkiv, 1982 . [Details]

Report

  Year Publication
(2013) The Neolithic dates from Carrowmore 1978-98. A source critical review.
Bergh, S. & Hensey, R. (2013) The Neolithic dates from Carrowmore 1978-98. A source critical review. NUI GALWAY: Report [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2009 Government of Ireland Research Fellow IRCHSS Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences
2000 Government of Ireland Research Fellow IRCHSS Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences
1998 Post Doctoral Research Fellow Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Education

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Swedish Archaeological Society Member /
Institute of Archaeologists in Ireland (IAI) Member /
UNISCAPE Member /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
GIS Centre Committee, NUIG Member /
Standing Committee of Archaeology, Royal Irish Academy Member /

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Research (e.g. Community based research) Public Participation Network /
Consultancy (Pro-bono) Strandhill Development Association /

Current Postgraduate Students (Research)

  Student Degree Type Type
Yolande O Brien Doctorate - Structured Ph.D. in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Supervisor
Lynda Mc Cormack Doctorate - Structured Ph.D. in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Supervisor