Archaeology surveys

The Burren has a higher density of archaeology than anywhere else in Ireland – this has to be both recorded and preserve into the future.  Much of the Burren holds an unknown amount of unrecorded forts, mound walls, wedge tombs etc. many of which are not being protected and are being damaged in some cases due to lack of awareness and are becoming overgrown with hazel scrub.   In recent years a plethora of excavations have taken place in a whole variety of different locations – mountain tops, caves and beaches – revealing more clues about the early people living in the Burren.

A shell midden (rubbish pile) near Fanore beach was discovered in 2008 and excavated in 2009 and 2011 providing the earliest recorded evidence of human activity in the Burren and confirming that the north Burren coastal area was occupied a few generations earlier than the first farmers.

Moneen cave in 2011 was discovered to be rich with archaeological finds possibly dating from 4000BC. Pottery shards, animal bones, a deer antler hammer and a human skeleton were among the items excavated from the cave. The excavation that took place here was the very first in Ireland to include a team of both local cavers and archaeologists.

Turlough hill has long been an area of interest for archaeologists and a large settlement is located on the summit, thought to date to about 3,000 years ago. It was most recently excavated in the summer of 2016 and evidence is thought to show that it could be a gathering site rather than a place of full time residence.

Roughan Hill is abundant with prehistoric archaeological sites and has seen many excavations taking place here over past few years. Two wedge tombs were the most recent to be excavated during the summer of 2016 – we are still eagerly awaiting the results from this dig. A neighbouring area is soon to be surveyed where it is suspected that there are many other prehistoric features yet to be discovered.

The above describes only a small amount of the archaeological work that has recently taken place in the Burren and our Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers have been lucky enough to be able to participate in many of them. Financially, some excavations are only possible with the help of our volunteers and our volunteers are richly rewarded with practical, hands on archaeological training and amazing experiences.

The Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers work closely with local archaeologists on a huge variety of different projects. Any volunteer is welcome to come and help out on any of these projects – email [email protected] to be added to our mailing list so you can receive regular updates on all our up and coming events. No experience is needed – we always ensure necessary training is provided for all our events.

See here for a videos of a previous volunteer event at an archaeological dig.

Scrub Clearance at Teergonean Court Tomb, Doolin

Extract by Dr Christine Grant, National Monuments Officer

Court tombs date from the Neolithic (Stone Age) and are one type of megalithic tomb.  Other megalithic tombs types are Portal Tombs such as Poulnabrone, Passage Tombs such as Newgrange and Wedge Tombs, like those at Parknabinnia and Gleninsheen. Court Tombs are so called because they have a court area in front of the burial chambers.  The court is generally defined by a series of large upright stones.  The shape of the court area varies but classic courts are oval or U-shaped.  Access to the burial chambers is through the court area.  The number of burial chambers varies, but two chambers would be the most common number.  The burial chambers are generally covered by a mound or cairn of stones, being rectangular or trapezoidal in plan.   A few examples have a court and chambers at both ends of the mound (double court tombs) while a few contain additional chambers in the back or the sides of the mound.  Burials placed in these monuments were generally not burnt (inhumations), although some cremated remains have been found at excavated sites.  There are nearly 400 examples of Court Tombs recorded in Ireland.  These are found mainly in the northern half of the country.  The Court Tombs in Clare are some of the few examples found in the southern half of the Country.  Various activities associated with burial and perhaps with other ceremonies through the year would have been carried out in the court area.

The Court Tomb at Teergonean in Doolin has a few of the large uprights of the court area still standing beside the entrance to the burial chamber (the semi-circle of stones) and we were able to expose the remains of some stones from the other side of the court area, surviving at ground level .  The Doolin tomb has one very well defined burial chamber and a probable second chamber, with just one long side stone remaining.

You will all have heard one of the landowners explain that changes to the grazing regime under the REPS scheme and a reduction in the number of farmers using the winterage has led to the increase in scrub growth in the area and the particularly dense growth around the court tomb.  Thanks to your efforts the tomb is now more accessible and any further potential damage by tree roots has been halted.  It would be good to have a second day there and clear some more of the area.  Also to my shame we never paused to remember the people who were buried there so long ago, we’ll do that next time.

Why not join us

So, are you interested to be part of maintaining the Burren’s history, culture and precious ecosystems? If so, why not join the fun and enthusiastic team of conservation volunteers, share your passion for the Burren with others and make a huge difference to the biodiversity and maintenance of this unique landscape. Becoming a volunteer offers you an opportunity to build skills, knowledge about place and indeed, lasting friendships.

This is an active group of conservation volunteers that have been working in areas of archaeology conservation, rare species monitoring, managing scrub encroachment and much more since 2010.  We have 1-2 events a month.

• Get outdoors, enjoy some healthy exercise and give something back in the region
• Learn new skills in conservation and heritage management
• Be part of a friendly, inclusive and active conservation community

Join us today and make that difference!  To register for the events email [email protected]

What are the upcoming events for the volunteers

What other ongoing projects are the volunteers involved in:

drystone walling   scrub management

species monitoring   landscape management   invasive species

What have the volunteers achieved?

View below all the activities that the Burrenbeo Conservation volunteers have achieved since 2010: