Category Archives: EUROPE

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

2,700-year-old Iron Age ‘loch village’ discovered in Scotland

2,700-year-old Iron Age ‘loch village’ discovered in Scotland

During a small-scale dig, archaeologists discovered what was initially believed to be a crannog – a loch shelter, a loch-dwelling often found on the banks of a loch or sited on an artificial island.

Archaeologists at the remains of an extensive iron age ‘loch village’ in Wigtownshire. 

Instead, they discovered at least seven houses built in wetlands around the now in-filled Black Loch of Myrton, near Wigtownshire, in south-west Scotland. Called a “loch village,” this type of site is unique in Scotland and there are few other comparable sites elsewhere in the British Isles.

Similar lake villages have been found in Glastonbury and Meare, both in Somerset, but this is the first loch village to be uncovered in the north of the Border.

Archaeologists at the remains of an extensive iron age ‘loch village’ in Wigtownshire. 

Scotland’s Iron Age began some 2,700 years ago.

The Wigtownshire dig was a pilot excavation of what was thought to be a crannog, under threat by drainage operations.

However, during the excavation over the summer, AOC Archaeology Group – which worked on the dig in conjunction with local volunteers – discovered evidence of multiple structures.

During the dig, which was part-financed with £15,000 from Historic Scotland, archaeologists realized that what appeared to be a small group of mounds was a stone hearth at the center of a roundhouse.

The timber structure of the house has been preserved, with beams radiating out from the hearth, forming the foundation, while the outer wall consisted of a double-circuit of stakes.

Rather than being a single crannog, as first thought, it appears to be a settlement of at least seven houses built around the small loch. Crannogs were probably the centres of prosperous Iron Age farms, where people lived in an easily defended location to protect themselves and their livestock from raiders.

Nancy Hollinrake, who runs an archaeology business with her husband in Glastonbury and who is also on the committee of the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society, said she was excited by the find.

She explained that although there were hundreds of crannogs in Scotland, this was different.

“It says a lot about the degree of protection they would have needed – having that many crannogs in one area,” she said.

“The industry would have been iron – and they would have been able to get the temperature of a furnace up to a point where they could smelt iron and make glass,” she added.

“There would have been high levels of craftsmanship and exchange of goods.

“They would also have carried out enamelling, bronzework, as well as spinning, weaving and dyeing large amounts of cloth. They decorated braids and played games with dice.”

Graeme Cavers, of AOC Archaeology, who is the co-director of the site, said that because the land was abandoned after the Iron Age, the buildings were well preserved.

“Waterlogged wood also offers the opportunity to date the structure very accurately using dendrochronology – or tree-ring counting – to give a date accurate to within a few years or even months, rather than the decades or centuries usually provided by radiocarbon dating,” he added.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Archaeologists Find Unique 1,400-Year-Old Christian Artifact

Archaeologists Find Unique 1,400-Year-Old Christian Artifact

Around 1,400 years ago, citizens lived near Vindolanda, a northern England Roman fort, inscribed a lead chalice with images of crosses, angels, and other Christian symbols. Now, reports Dalya Alberge for the Guardian, archaeologists say that this vessel—unearthed during the excavation of a ruined sixth-century church—represents the oldest known example of Christian graffiti ever found in Britain.

A fragment of the 1,400-year-old Christian chalice found at Vindolanda in Northumberland, northern England.

The chalice was once the size of a cereal bowl, recovered in 14 pieces. Inscriptions adorn every inch of its surface, covering both its interior and exterior. Per a statement, symbols seen on the cup include a chi-rho (or monogram said to represent Jesus Christ), a happy bishop, ships, a congregation, a fish, and a whale. Latin, Greek, and potentially Ogam letters appear alongside the drawings.

Vindolanda served as a key outpost used during construction of Hadrian’s Wall, a 73-mile stone barrier constructed around 122 A.D. to mark the edge of the Roman Empire. Prior discoveries at the fort, including a board game and a scrap of leather cut into the shape of a mouse, have helped reveal aspects of daily life under Roman rule.

Rome controlled Britain for 330 years, only withdrawing from the region in 410 A.D. By the time the chalice arrived on the scene, the Romans had long since abandoned Vindolanda.

Andrew Birley, the archaeologist in charge of excavations at Vindolanda, tells the Guardian, “The discovery helps us appreciate how the site and its community survived beyond the fall of Rome and yet remained connected to a spiritual successor in the form of Christianity.”

Speaking with BBC News, Birley says that finding “a chalice smothered in Christian symbols” offers an opportunity for heightened understanding of Christianity’s spread across the region.

He adds, “Many potential church structures have been located from this period, but without the Christian artifacts to back that up, they could not be proven beyond doubt.”

Fragments of the 1,400-year-old Christian chalice found at Vindolanda in Northumberland, northern England.

Thanks to the inscribed vessel, researchers may be able to recontextualize potential churches from the same period that lack clear evidence of Christendom.

As Birley tells Chiara Giordano of the Independent, the inscriptions may have conveyed Christian stories at a time when Bibles were not yet widely available.

Studying the chalice, he says, could help reveal “what was important to congregations almost 1,500 years ago and just after the fall of Roman Britain.”

Remnants of the church suggest it was large enough to house up to 60 worshippers, according to the Independent. At some point, the house of worship collapsed, burying the chalice and inadvertently protecting it from both modern agriculture and thieves.

David Petts, an archaeologist at Durham University who is studying the artifact, tells the Guardian that the find “is genuinely exciting.”

He explains, “When we think of graffiti, we tend to think it’s unauthorized vandalism. But we know from many medieval churches, that people would put marks and symbols on buildings. What is unique about this is finding them on a vessel.”

The chalice’s fragments will now go on display in Vindolanda’s museum as the centerpiece of a new exhibition centered on the site’s history following the Romans’ departure.

EUROPE, GREECE, WORLD

2,500-Year-Old Lost City Atop a Greek Mountain Peak discovered by archaeologists

2,500-Year-Old Lost City Atop a Greek Mountain Peak discovered by archaeologists

A team of archaeologists working in Greece has made a sensational discovery that can lead to a new understanding of the ancient world.

The city’s acropolis is barely visible during a cloudy day on the Thessalian plains.

An international group of researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden announced last month that they had found the ruins of a 2,500-year-old metropolis buried atop the Strongilovoúni hill on the great Thessalian plains.

The unknown city, located near the village of Vlochos in central Greece, is believed to have been a metropolis according to the extent of the ruins found there, rather than an obscure settlement on a mountain.

Fortress walls, towers and city gates are clearly visible from the air.

“Most striking of the visible remains at the site are the well-preserved fortifications, at points still 8 feet high, but the lower slopes below the hill show clear indications of being the location of an extensive urban settlement, now covered by silt and sediment from the nearby river Enipeas,” says Robin Rönnlund, PhD student in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Gothenburg and leader of the fieldwork.

“A colleague and I came across the site in connection with another project last year, and we realised the great potential right away.

The fact that nobody has explored the hill before is a mystery,” he added.

The researchers believe that the presence of a major city in an area previously considered a backwater of the ancient world can deliver new findings on a tumultuous period in Greek history.

The sensational discovery comes just weeks after Egyptian archaeologist discovered a 7,000-year-old lost city along the Nile, also thought to have been an important metropolis.

While almost none of this is visible from the ground below, the 99-acre area contains a tower, the main square, walls and gates, and a street grid indicative of the city’s significance and size.

Thanks to pottery and coins found at the site, the researchers can estimate the city’s date. “Our oldest finds are from around 500 BC, but the city seems to have flourished mainly from the fourth to the third century BC before it was abandoned for some reason, maybe in connection with the Roman conquest of the area,” says Rönnlund.

Fragment of red-figure pottery from the late 6th century BC, probably by Attic painter Paseas.

In order to avoid disturbing the site, the archaeologists are using a ground-penetrating radar rather than excavating. The method has proven highly effective, as the structures discovered so far have all been recognized by the radar rather than dug up.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Archaeologists Excavate Roman Villa at Pompeii

Archaeologists Excavate Roman Villa at Pompeii

The suburb of the ancient city of Pompeii was populated by numerous settlement complexes, scattered over a territory which responded to productive (wine and oil-producing farms) as well as residential or seasonal needs when the owner needed to stay temporarily.

The safeguarding activity carried out by the Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii and now by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii has allowed us to outline a rather complex and articulated context, with the identification of various ‘villas’, located in the relevant territory.

The current excavation operation, in Civita Giuliana, around 700m northwest of the walls of Ancient Pompeii, as well as confirming this data, has brought to light the servile-productive sector of a large villa, which had already been partially investigated at the beginning of the 20th century, and the area (to the south and southwest of the structure) dedicated to agricultural use.

The new excavations have revealed the presence of a rectangular structure with 5 quadrangular rooms, constructed with opus reticulatum walls (a form of Roman brickwork consisting of diamond-shaped bricks of tuff, referred to as cubilia, placed around a core of opus caementicium).

Two rooms have so far been extensively studied. The first room is located on the western side of the structure and is decorated with a thin layer of white plaster with traces of red stripes.

The room contains a quadrangular niche called a lalarium (a shrine to the guardian spirits of the Roman household) that is bordered by a plaster frame with a quadrangular marble base. Several items, including two items of furniture, were identified as voids in the pyroclastic flow deposits that have been replicated with plaster casts.

The second room contains the remains of animals, one complete with a connected skeletal structure and a second small animal located in front of a wooden trough.

The excavation has posed new questions on the peculiarities of the complex, and has opened, or rather reopened, the debate regarding its planimetric development.

The Historic Excavations

Between 1907 and 1908, the Marquis Giovanni Imperiali carried out excavations in the area immediately to the north of the current area, on the basis of an excavation permit granted by the then Ministry of Education to the private individual, according to the norms of regulations in force at the time, and whose reports were published in 1994 with a monograph by the Superintendency.

The historic excavation unearthed 15 rooms relating to two sectors of the villa, one residential and the other productive.

The residential sector was arranged around a rectangular plan peristyle, bordered on the north and east sides by a portico supported by masonry columns, whilst the western side – presumably taking advantage of a natural rise in height, was bordered by a long cryptoporticus covered by a terrace onto which the peristyle opened, with a view over the land in front.

On the eastern side of the peristyle, five rooms were discovered (the only ones whose structure it has been possible to locate, thanks to photographic documentation of the excavation), decorated with paintings of the Third and Fourth Style, and which yielded a varied typology of objects related to daily life, personal adornment, and domestic worship.

Regarding the productive sector, which was probably located on the northeastern side of the building, we lack the information necessary to be able to locate it with certainty, but undoubtedly it consisted of a torcularium, a wine cellar, and other rooms for storing foodstuffs produced in the agricultural land which surrounded the building; the position of a lararium in the southeastern corner of the courtyard is also uncertain.

Over the course of the following years, other random finds have revealed further remains of the structures. In 1955, just before one of the tests carried out during the current investigation, the Archaeological Superintendency brought to light the dividing walls; of particular interest is the presence of two walls parallel and perpendicular to the road track, joined by a connecting wall in opus craticium.

EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

5,700-year-old Neolithic house discovered by archaeologists in Cork

5,700-year-old Neolithic house discovered by archaeologists in Cork

Archaeologists in North Cork have uncovered the foundations of a 5,700-year-old Neolithic house in addition to evidence of Iron Age smelting and Bronze Age burial sites. 

5,700-year-old Neolithic house discovered by archaeologists in Cork
The incredible discoveries were made following eight excavations in sites across north Cork

The archaeologists excavated a total of eight sites as part of two road realignment projects on the N73 road which links Mallow and Mitchelstown, near the villages of Shanballymore and Kildorrery, and a house dating back to 3700BC was found at one of the sites.

It is believed that the house belonged to some of the very first people to live in the area and found alongside were quantities of grain, pottery, and stone tools dating back to the same period.

At a different site in the townland of Waterdyke, archaeologists found evidence of charcoal pits required in the smelting process to produce iron. The pits date back to between 266AD and 1244AD while further evidence of smelting was also found at Annakiska South. 

There was also evidence of a 17th-century enclosure at Annakiska South as well as clay pipes and glass in addition to evidence of a 17th-century smithy situated on the original road that would have made horseshoes for travelers passing between Mallow and Mitchelstown. 

Clay pipes believed to be from the 17th century were among the fragments unearthed by archaeologists in Cork

The Irish Examiner reports that farming knowledge only arrived in Ireland around 200 years before this house was built, meaning that the settlement is one of the oldest farming settlements on the island of Ireland. 

Archaeologists also discovered evidence of ritual sites dating back to roughly the same period at the settlement. 

They found evidence of stone tools and pottery deliberately buried in holes in the Middle Neolithic era (3500BC to 2900BC) in a form of ritual that may have been associated with human burials.

Middle-neolithic pottery found in a sinkhole in Clenor South possibly left as an offering from the people who believed the natural phenomena were portals to the underworld

The tools and pottery may have been buried as an offering of gifts for the gods of the underworld. 

There was also evidence of a barrow cemetery dating back to the Bronze Age nestled by the banks of a meandering stream and overlooked by a nearby settlement. 

Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), who carried out the excavations and the roadworks, published an “online story map” documenting the archaeologists’ results. 

The online map, created by TII project archaeologist Ken Hanley and Cork County Council resident archaeologist Ed Lynne, also documents previously discovered sites along the route and can be viewed here. 

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

1,900 years ago: Terrified mother and child’s final moments preserved in ash after Pompeii volcano blast

1,900 years ago: Terrified mother and child’s final moments preserved in ash after Pompeii volcano blast

Having been buried in ash for over 1,900 years, this tragic story of what seems to be a child on the belly of its terrified mother is a step closer to being unveiled in this disturbing image.

In 79 A.D., after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 Romans at Pompeii, including a child seemingly frozen in terror.

It is believed that the child was four, due to his height and was sheltering in a location dubbed House of the Golden Bracelet with his family when tragedy struck.

This haunting image shows what appears to be a child resting on the stomach of an adult. It is estimated that anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were killed on the spot
Restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 of the Romans trapped in Pompeii in 79 AD, including children seemingly frozen in terror. Here, Stefano Vanacore, director of the laboratory at Pompeii Archaeological Site can be seen carrying the remains of a petrified child in his arms
Experts at the site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe. It could be supposed that this victim was trapped in a building or terrified

He was discovered alongside an adult male and female, presumed to be his parents, as well as a younger child who appeared to be asleep on his mother’s lap. The little boy’s clothing is visible in the plaster cast, and his facial expression is one of peace, Decoded Past reported.

Stefania Giudice, a conservator from Naples national archaeological Museum, told journalist Natashas Sheldon: ‘It can be very moving handling these remains when we apply the plaster.’ 

‘Even though it happened 2,000 years ago, it could be a boy, a mother, or a family. It’s human archaeology, not just archaeology.’

The perfectly-preserved settlement was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9 metres) of ash. Archaeologists were amazed to find human remains inside the voids. Plaster of Paris was poured inside to create casts of humans, and when this material is broken it reveals bones inside (shown)
The perfectly-preserved settlement was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9 meters) of ash. Archaeologists were amazed to find human remains inside the voids. Plaster of Paris was poured inside to create casts of humans, and when this material is broken it reveals bones inside (shown)

Experts at the Pompeii Archaeological Site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe. The people’s poses reveal how they died, some trapped in buildings, and others sheltering with family members. 

In one haunting image, Stefano Vanacore, director of the laboratory can be seen carrying the remains of the tiny child in his arms who was imprisoned in ash when the volcano erupted on 24 August. 

Another plaster cast of an adult reveals he raised his hands above his head in a protective gesture, seemingly in a bid to stave off death. Pompeii was a large Roman town in the Italian region of Campania. 

Reports claim two thousand people died, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748
The majority of plaster casts were made in mid 19th century, meaning that some have degenerated and need repairing, offering experts a glimpse inside them

Mount Vesuvius unleashed its power by spewing ash hundreds of feet into the air for 18 hours, which fell onto the doomed town, choking residents and covering buildings.

But the deadly disaster occurred the next morning, when the volcano’s cone collapsed, causing an avalanche of mud travelling at 100mph (160km/h) to flood Pompeii, destroying everything in its path and covering the town so that all but the tallest buildings were buried.

People were buried too in the ash, which hardened to form a porous shell, meaning that the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving the skeleton in a void. Reports claim two thousand people died, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748.

Many of the buildings, artifacts, and skeletons were found intact under a layer of debris. It is now classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site and more than 2.5 million tourists visit each year, French and Italian archaeologists excavating areas of the ancient town found raw clay vases that appear to have been dropped by Roman potters fleeing the disaster.  

The perfectly-preserved settlement was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9metres) of ash. Excavators were amazed to find human remains inside voids of the ash and soon worked out how to create casts of the people to capture a moment frozen in time.

Archaeologists poured plaster inside to capture the positions the people were in when they died, trapping their skeletons inside the plaster before removing the cast from the hole a couple of days later.

The technique means it’s possible to see the anguished and pained expressions of men, women, and children who all perished as well as details such as hairstyles and clothes.

Roman writer, Pliny the younger, described the panic during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Terrified Romans (illustrated) living in the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum saw ‘sheets of fire and leaping flames’ as they ran through dark streets carrying torches with pumice stone raining down upon them, he said
Roman writer, Pliny the younger, described the panic during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Terrified Romans (illustrated) living in the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum saw ‘sheets of fire and leaping flames’ as they ran through dark streets carrying torches with pumice stone raining down upon them, he said

Creating casts is an exact science because the plaster must be thin enough to show details of the person, but thick enough to support the remains, the BBC reported.

Approximately 1,150 bodies have been discovered so far, although a third of the city has yet to be excavated. The majority of plaster casts were made in the mid 19th century, meaning that some have degenerated and need repairing, offering experts a glimpse inside them.

In all, only around 100 of the voids have been captured in plaster, to reveal people’s poses as well as writhing pet dogs, for example. It is estimated that anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were killed on the spot.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Britain’s secret treasure trove of stone age rock art

Britain’s secret treasure trove of stone age rock art

They have been found where the earth meets the sky, high up on the moorlands of northern England, a mysterious series of strange and ancient carvings hewn into the rocks and boulders.

More than 100 elaborate carvings dating back thousands of years have been discovered on rocks and boulders in the North of England. The art, thought to be the work of Neolithic man, is open to the air but is so remote that it had lain undisturbed and undetected for thousands of years  –  until it was recently discovered by English Heritage.

It includes a series of intricate designs of concentric circles, interlocking rings, and hollowed cups. They are among only 2,500 examples that exist in England – having survived natural erosion, quarrying, and field clearance. Around 100 volunteers, trained by English Heritage, have been recording the location, content, context, and condition of rock art for the last four years as part of the pilot project.

Britain's secret treasure trove of stone age rock art
Volunteers have found more than 100 examples of ancient rock art in places like the Ketley Crag in Northumberland

During the Neolithic period, 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, the man moved away from the roaming existence of the hunter-gatherer who traversed the country, following his prey, to a more settled existence.

New Stone Age man preferred to stay put, tending cereals and domestic animals. How all of this fitted in with the abstract curves of their rock carvings is anyone’s guess.

Mysterious presence: A carved boulder at Baildon Moor, West Yorks

It’s not possible to date the art itself, but its age can be assessed by the context in which it is found. For example, if it is near burial sites which took the form of large cairns or long mounds in which people are buried in groups, it is more likely to date back to the New Stone Age.

The most interesting discovery includes a large carved panel found on a sandstone boulder on Barningham Moor, a 300m-high (984ft) area of Co Durham, on the edge of the Pennines.

It features abstract carvings — interlocking grooves and hollowed cups with surrounding circles. Tools of stone or bone were used to carve the symbols and the work is so well preserved that the ‘peck’ marks are still visible.

Barningham Moor has revealed an elaborately carved panel

Kate Wilson, inspector of ancient monuments at English Heritage, said: ‘There are many theories as to what rock art carvings mean. They may have played a role in fire, feastings and offering activities, or been used as signposts, or to mark territory.

‘They may have spiritual significance. In hunter-gatherer communities, those places where mountains touch the sky or the sea reaches the shore are often considered the domain of supernatural ancestors. Most rock art is found in those areas.’

She said that the Neolithic Age saw the arrival of ‘a fairly sophisticated culture’, with the introduction of agriculture. ‘They were settling and cultivating something,’ she added.

Revealed after 5,000 years by a team of English Heritage volunteers at Buttony, Northumberland Buttony Northumberland

‘You find monuments such as stone circles and henges. Something’s going on where society’s changing. This is a story yet to be told.’

The results of the four year initiative – funded by English Heritage, in partnership with Northumberland and Durham County Councils – will now be published online.

Richard Stroud, a volunteer who discovered the Barningham boulder, said: ‘We expected to discover one or two simple carvings. Instead, we found a breathtaking panel, probably one of the most complex discovered in County Durham.’

A mysterious circular design was uncovered in Chatton, Northumberland

He added: ‘There is a gulf of time and civilization between the society that carved this stone and ours, its true meaning is something we will possibly never understand.’

Edward Impey, director of research and standards at English Heritage, said: ‘The online record of the Northumberland and Durham examples will serve as the starting point for a national survey, and, we hope, help us understand their meaning and lead to the discovery of others.’

Logging of ‘rock art’ was led for decades by retired Hexham headmaster Stan Beckensall, who went on to donate his archive to Newcastle University. His finds over the last 50 years have now been added to the online database of 1,500 carvings. English Heritage is now hoping the pioneering work undertaken will be continued in other counties to create a nationwide record.

This example in Old Bewick in Northumberkand was one of the new discoveries of the four-year English Heritage project

Sara Rushton, the Northumberland county archaeologist, and manager of the project, said: ‘Our volunteer recorders have worked alongside experts in the field to develop new techniques and produce stunning three-dimensional computer models of rock art for display.

‘These models can be manipulated to show some carvings which are now almost completely invisible to the naked eye and will be a fantastic tool for managing these ancient sites for the future.’

A work of rock art uncovered at Dod Law, Northumberland

Made with simple tools of stone or bone, some of the patterns are as plain as a hollowed cup shape. Others feature abstract designs painstakingly carved into the local sandstone.  But despite their meticulous notes, there is only so much we will ever know about the men who laboured to leave such an indelible mark on the landscape. And perhaps that is all part of their magic.

EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

Possible Bronze Age Burials Unearthed in Ireland

Possible Bronze Age Burials Unearthed in Ireland

At the excavation site of a new community hospital in the Sheil District, Ballyshannon, several finds from the Bronze Period have been discovered.

The Bronze Age urn will undergo further examination

In the course of archaeological research, a large capstone was found last week. It comprises a large flat sandstone boulder complete with rock art in the form of cup marks incised into its upper surface.

Monuments of this kind are classified as Boulder Burials and are thought to date to the Bronze Age 2,500 BC to 500BC.  

The capstone did overlay a small amount of cairn material within a large pit, which was fully investigated but contained no burial.

A number of differing burial sites have been found at the site

The National Monuments Service and National Museum were made aware of the unearthing of the capstone last Monday (August 24) and a team of three archaeologists has been on the sites since carefully examining the area where the capstone was unearthed and a wider area close to it.  

On Friday, August 28 the capstone was carefully removed from the site for further examination and analysis.

Subsequent further archaeological Investigations have uncovered the remains of an inverted urn burial. Urn burials date to the Bronze Age and comprise a large ceramic pot usually highly decorated, and containing cremated remains.

The urn has been removed by the Specialist Conservator and sent for conservation. All the cremated remains recovered from the site will be analyzed by osteoarchaeologist and the results presented in the site excavation report.

The dig is on the site of a new hospital at Ballyshannon

Mr. Shane Campbell, HSE Estates Manager, North West was present at the unearthing and stated “The earth removal work that started last week is part of an overall €21 million euro construction of the new Sheil Community Hospital.  I wish to offer reassurance that work is continuing on site as planned.

The contractor is on-site and continuing with the site clearance, removal of trees, etc and erecting the site Hhoarding, all as planned, the archaeological works will not delay the overall works programme.  

The HSE would like to thank Tamlyn McHugh and Fadó Archaeology for their painstaking work in uncovering these significant historical artifacts and ensuring they are properly conserved.”