This article is from page 15 of the 2012-07-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
UP TO 70 students, the majority from America, have been unearthing the historical mysteries of the Burren for the past two years thanks to the Caherconnell Archaeological Field School.
Within the last year the school, which allows students to get involved in the archaeological dig on the Caherconnell fort received academic accreditation from NUI Galway.
The accreditation adds even more academic weight to the course overseen by Irish archaeological heavy weight Dr Michelle Comer.
All of its achievements will be celebrated on Friday evening next when the school is officially opened by Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan.
The family run fort and school has already added significantly to the historical knowledge of the area in the last two years.
Colm Davoren of Caherconnell Archaeological Field School told The Clare People that “education means a lot to the family.” The fort was originally built by the family and “it is our lineage” explained Mr Davoren.
Among the finds the students and their supervisor discovered just a stone’s throw from the school in the fort was a hearth the pre-dates the originally presumed date of the fort.
They also uncovered a footpath to the fort, which is now available for the public to see. The remains of a mystery woman dating back 400 years was also discovered. Her body was defleshed and disarticulated, a practice that should have finished many years previous – adding to the mystery. Mr Davoren said that plans are in place to begin excavating the main fort next year.
Siobhán King from Shannon Development has also pledged her support for the business.
“Caherconnell stone fort is an excellent example of a family-owned business in the heart of the Burren. They have worked over the years to maintain their uniqueness as a product, while at the same diversifying to build on their product offering. The addition of the field school is a fine example of this and is testimony to the enthusiasm, hard work, and innovation of the owners to develop the business as a key tourist attraction within the Burren,” she said.
“There has been an influx of archaeological students who come to Caherconnell to develop their ar- chaeological techniques and to add to their experience in a truly meaningful way.”
Dr Michelle Comber, the archaeological director at Caherconnell and a lecturer of Archaeology at NUIG, said the “field school provides an amazing opportunity for us, as archaeologists, to unearth information on the Irish past, and to pass on our skills to the next generation of archaeologists. The school also allows the local community to share its proud heritage with an international audience – continuing the centuriesold Davoren tradition of providing education in the Burren.”