Dr. Christy Cunniffe, Galway Community Archaeology
|
|
People and Place: Recovering the lost Archaeology of the Slieve Aughty Uplands
Christy Cunniffe is employed as Community Archaeologist under the auspices of the Galway Community Archaeology Advisory Project by the Heritage Office of Galway County Council. This initiative is funded by Galway County Council and The Heritage Council and was initiated as the Field Monument Advisor Programme (FMA) by the Heritage Council some ten years ago. The new title reflects the movement of the programme into the realm of community archaeology, prior to that the role of the FMA was to provide advice and information to farmers in relation to the preservation of archaeological monuments in their care. However, it became apparent that communities and individuals also required support and assistance.
A quick glance at the RMP for Co. Galway will show that with the exception of a few clusters of megalithic tombs and a limited number of other prehistoric monuments on the slopes, the Galway half of the Slieve Aughty uplands seem to be devoid of archaeology. However, intensive fieldwork undertaken by the Galway Community Archaeologist in conjunction with the various communities and individuals in this region has started to change that pattern. While large tracts of the mountains have yet to be surveyed, where fieldwork has occurred, it has been very fruitful and has revealed a number of aspects about land use and settlement in this upland region that was heretofore unknown about. What is obvious from all of this is the potential that arises for discovering new archaeological sites by working in the community with the assistance of local landowners. It is also important to note the interest that it creates at local level when the results of fieldwork are communicated back to the community. I have had the pleasure of meeting many people during my regular excursions to the hills, many of the people that I meet are curious as to what I am about but all of them are courteous to me. They all like to find out more about recent discoveries.
A few central themes are evolving - a number of new prehistoric sites have been discovered, these are helping to fill in the blank spaces for that era, an evolving archaeology associated with booleying is also evolving. This is hardly a surprise, but due to the lack of survey this aspect of land use has heretofore been missed. Added to this, a rather unique post 1796 archaeology associated with the settlement of Ulster (Oultach) migrants in the region is present. It is rare to have such a hard date to hang a thesis on! This latter layer of settlement is both interesting and intriguing; as the surviving remains in the landscape allow us examine the early phase of this quite recent internal migration through the prism of archaeology. There is a lot more besides - a number of sites associated with the practice of popular religion have been noted. One of the most important aspects I feel is the rich opportunity for future research that this forgotten landscape provides.
To that end, the Community Archaeologist works closely with the various third level institutions encouraging lecturers and their students to focus their attention towards aspects of the archaeology of the Slieve Aughty's. Dr Stefan Bergh and Ms Maggie Roynane of NUIG and Dr Yvonne Mc Dermott of GMIT (Castlebar Campus) have been very helpful in this sense.
A quick glance at the RMP for Co. Galway will show that with the exception of a few clusters of megalithic tombs and a limited number of other prehistoric monuments on the slopes, the Galway half of the Slieve Aughty uplands seem to be devoid of archaeology. However, intensive fieldwork undertaken by the Galway Community Archaeologist in conjunction with the various communities and individuals in this region has started to change that pattern. While large tracts of the mountains have yet to be surveyed, where fieldwork has occurred, it has been very fruitful and has revealed a number of aspects about land use and settlement in this upland region that was heretofore unknown about. What is obvious from all of this is the potential that arises for discovering new archaeological sites by working in the community with the assistance of local landowners. It is also important to note the interest that it creates at local level when the results of fieldwork are communicated back to the community. I have had the pleasure of meeting many people during my regular excursions to the hills, many of the people that I meet are curious as to what I am about but all of them are courteous to me. They all like to find out more about recent discoveries.
A few central themes are evolving - a number of new prehistoric sites have been discovered, these are helping to fill in the blank spaces for that era, an evolving archaeology associated with booleying is also evolving. This is hardly a surprise, but due to the lack of survey this aspect of land use has heretofore been missed. Added to this, a rather unique post 1796 archaeology associated with the settlement of Ulster (Oultach) migrants in the region is present. It is rare to have such a hard date to hang a thesis on! This latter layer of settlement is both interesting and intriguing; as the surviving remains in the landscape allow us examine the early phase of this quite recent internal migration through the prism of archaeology. There is a lot more besides - a number of sites associated with the practice of popular religion have been noted. One of the most important aspects I feel is the rich opportunity for future research that this forgotten landscape provides.
To that end, the Community Archaeologist works closely with the various third level institutions encouraging lecturers and their students to focus their attention towards aspects of the archaeology of the Slieve Aughty's. Dr Stefan Bergh and Ms Maggie Roynane of NUIG and Dr Yvonne Mc Dermott of GMIT (Castlebar Campus) have been very helpful in this sense.