The Maree Project is your chance to join the excavation of a high-status (maybe even royal!) settlement, just south of Galway on the Wild Atlantic Way of Ireland. Named ‘Rathgurreen’, the site is a type of ‘ringfort’ and is of interest to archaeologists as it is more than twice the size of the typical ringfort in Ireland.
The site is located on the Maree peninsula, the subject of a major new research project. The area around Rathgurreen is rich in archaeological remains dating as far back as the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age, 8000 – 4000 BC). This area of Ireland has had a high concentration of human activity over a long period of time, and the project aims to explore land use through all of these periods. Rathgurreen is the first excavation target of many sites on the peninsula.
Rathgurreen was partially excavated in the 1940s and, at that time, archaeologists unearthed some tantalizing artifacts including a Roman oil lamp and French pottery. This suggests that high-status residents lived at this location.
At the moment, the earliest known activity at Rathgurreen ringfort dates to 374-601AD, with seemingly continuous use up until about 1100 AD. The settlement began life as a large-diameter univallate enclosure (surrounded by a single earthen bank and ditch). It was then transformed by creating an additional large bank and ditch inside the earlier versions – a very unusual feature. The modern excavations will test the results of the 1940s, and add to our understanding of the monument and its people.
The area around Caherconnell is important in understanding Ireland’s past. Caherconnell is a well-preserved, multi-period archaeological complex, rich in sites and artefacts. The Burren, where Caherconnell is located, has had a high concentration of human activity over a long period of time.
Caherconnell itself is home to four stone forts. The site has yielded evidence of habitation from the Irish Neolithic (circa 4000 BC) right through to late medieval times (circa late 17th century AD). The largest stone fort on the site has produced evidence that high-status Gaelic lords lived, farmed, ruled, and manufactured objects made of precious metals here. The incredible preservation of both artefacts and monuments found at Caherconnell are providing researchers details and a deeper understanding of the entire Irish human story from native settlement, economics, and politics through time.