A few weeks back, I was given an amazing opportunity to be a part of an excavation in Ireland The site is called Caherconnell Stone Fort and it provides a field school through the National University of Ireland in Galway. Before this, I have taken an introductory course and worked in a lab. But, being hands-on provided me with so much information and a truly remarkable experience.
A Little Information about Caherconnell
The Caherconnell Stone Fort or Cashel is located in Caherconnell, Kilcorney parish, Burren barony, Co. Clare. The fort is a circular enclosure, entirely made up of limestone. It appears to have been used between the 10th and 17th centuries.
In 2007, a test trench was done to discover if the area was worth excavating. Once learned that it was, excavation with the field school began between 2009 and 2010. Since then, there have been an abundance of artifacts and samples found. Some examples are bone combs, quern stones, polishing stones, hammer stones, slate pencil, dress pins, sewing needs, knives, beads, iron tools, leather, clay pipe fragments, a ring, and so much more. Also, there is a structure near the north side of the wall that appears to have been used as a house. Additionally, a burial chamber was found on the northeast side, but the wall was built on top of the burial.
All of this evidence demonstrates the significance of this site. We have and continue to learn how they lived, what resources they had, who they traded with, and what traditions they upheld. Overall, it provides an even more detailed outline of the settlements in medieval Ireland.
About the Field School
There are multiple courses that you can apply for; from 2 weeks to 6 weeks and from introductory to advanced. I chose the 2 week introductory excavation course. With this, I was able to transfer 3 US credit hours to my university.
There are two people in charge at the site:
Dr. Michelle Comber – Excavation and Academic Director and Dr. Noel McCarthy – Excavation Supervisor and Academic Assistant. They are THE most knowledgeable people about this site and in archaeology. I couldn't be happier to learn from them.
Group sizes vary. My group was a total of seven people. But, their max is 20.
Work is from Monday-Friday. Around 9am to 5pm.
11am: tea break and 1pm: lunch. All complimentary.
Accommodation
For the field school, accommodation is provided by the Kilfenora Hostel in Kilfenora, Co. Clare. It is owned by Orla, who is the most amiable person I have ever met. She goes above and beyond to keep everyone satisfied and to help with anything inside and outside of the hostel. There is a washer and dryer, a kitchen, a common room, free WIFI, an information stand, and lockers inside the rooms. Also, they have rides set up to arrive and leave the site. Next door, there is Vaughan's Bar and Restaurant. There we had all of our dinners. Next door to the pub, there is a dance hall. Every Thursday and Sunday, they have authentic Irish music and dancing. Additionally, the town itself is quaint. It has approximately 200 residents. So, it is an incredibly close community and they are all welcoming.
My Experience
Since I was there for only 2 weeks, I wasn't able to see the finished excavation. I left when we were digging in the 11th to 14th centuries. But, to even get to that point, it took a lot of effort. To begin, Michelle and Noel had already sectioned off the area we'd be working with. That section was covered in soil so we used spades to de-sod it all and put all of it on a tarp.
An important note: everything and I do mean everything is put on a tarp because you have to put all of it back at the end of the excavation.
In continuation, de-sodding took a little over a day and underneath it all was rock. Then we begin to trowel. We each had our own trowels, a bucket for collecting small rocks, a bucket for the loose soil, a shovel to dump the soil into the bucket, a brush, and clippers to get any roots. After we were done, we drew each and every rock on the surface, which we'd do for every layer. So that way we knew what went where and if there is a certain pattern in the rocks that would hint at a structure. After drawing was done, we removed the rocks and troweled the 15/16th century occupation material. For the following days that routine would continue of troweling in the assigned sections and stopping when the occupation layer changed (which you could tell by the change in texture and color of the soil), drawing the rocks, removing them, and so on. During this we found varying artefacts in all the different centuries such as whetstones, a knife, medieval glass, iron tools, a bone comb, etc. Also, we found a wall feature that could possibly be for keeping in animals. But, we're not sure yet. Additionally, we didn't trowel everything because the bottom is bedrock and since the section was elevated, some of the bedrock was already showing.
We did more than troweling though. We learned how to do context sheets, which is used to record what's found. We learned how to sieve. In our case, we took either every bucket or every second bucket out to the sieve station. There we put small sections of soil into a mesh basket that sat on top of a bucket. Then we'd use a hose to filter things out. Anything we found would be put into a tray.
Besides the actual archaeology, I got close to my group. I spent all my time with them, whether it be sitting in the common room, having a few drinks in the pub, or going on tours. Also, we'd have free weekends to do whatever we wanted and most of the time, we'd all get together and plan a trip. So, my advice (if you choose to do this or something like this) is to not shut yourself in your room because just getting to know all them was one of the greatest parts of the whole trip.
Overall, it was a great learning experience as well as a way to connect with others from all over.
So, if you're interested, I would highly suggest applying. It's something you'll never forget.
If you would like me to provide further details, send me a message on my Instagram that's listed in the About Me section.
