Burrenbeo helps uncover ancient settlement

A new archaeological excavation in Fanore, Co Clare has raised great excitement and enthusiasm in the Burren and beyond with local schools and community groups getting involved in what has proven to be a widely-publicised dig that has really captured the public’s imagination.

The site under investigation is a shell midden near Fanore beach on the Burren’s Atlantic shore. The dig has uncovered rare evidence of Mesolithic hunter gathers in the area. It is approximately 6000 years old and is the only one of its kind identified to date in Co Clare.   Shell middens were cooking areas used from the Mesolithic to Medieval and even early modern times.  The evidence at Fanore dates from the late Mesolithic and is the earliest discovery in Co Clare, confirming activity a few generations prior to the arrival of the first farmers in the Burren (c.5,500 years ago).

“There haven’t been any major excavations in the area before as there were no big developments locally such as roads, so this is an opportunity for local communities and schools to experience an archaeological excavation”, explains Michael Lynch, Field Monument Adviser (FMA) for Co Clare, who is leading the excavation. “The site confirms that Mesolithic hunter gathers occupied the North Burren coastal regions a few generations before the first farmers”.

The excavation was funded by the Royal Irish Academy and the archaeologists were assisted by local community groups, mainly the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers, Ireland’s largest active conservation group. The volunteers, mostly local individuals, received training in field survey techniques and archaeological identification. Visits from local schools have also been very successful - the children getting to enjoy spending some time on the site while also learning about their ancestors.

The involvement of the community groups, schools and volunteers increases the awareness of archaeology in the area, an important element of the role of the FMA. FMAs work to raise awareness and provide advice to the farming community and other landowners on the management of archaeological monuments on privately owned land. The principal of ‘preservation through awareness’ has been key to the project’s success to date, where all parties can share knowledge.

Despite the exceptional work being carried out, the FMA programme is in danger of being abandoned as its main promoter, the Heritage Council, is ‘under review’. Since June 2011 the FMA programme in Clare has been jointly sponsored by Burrenbeo Trust and the Heritage Council. Clare has over 7,000 recorded monuments and potentially many more yet to be identified. Currently there are only three FMAs in the country, in Fingal, Clare and Galway.

You can read more in the recently published 'Burren Insight' magazine