Click on a link below to view the article and even download it if you wish!

Past Horizons Magazine

Issue 7 - March 2009

Slievemore - Excavating a Bronze Age Platform
Achill Archaeological Field School began excavating what looked like a
roundhouse platform on the slopes of Slievemore mountain.  Stuart Rathbone
discusses why he now thinks the structure is not domestic and may have a more
ritual purpose.

http://publications.pasthorizons.tv/?id=pasthorizonsmarch09
for web version

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13225737/Past-Horizons-March-09
for Pdf

Hello Everyone,

A recent article published in the Mayo News titled "Pre-Historic
Structure Found on Slievemore Puzzles Archaeologists" will undoubtedly
be of interest to all alumni and can be found in the 'files' section
of the Alumni Website.

Soon we will be circulating a general news letter about this seasons
works, but for now give this article a read.

All the best from Achill!

Warmest greetings Carol and Carrie!   I remember you all very well and
indeed every time I meet Richard O'Brien (1996 Supervisor) we chat
about that great 1996 group!  Some of you have kept in contact over
the years and I was delighted to receive emails from three of you in
2006 to remind me that it was your 10th Anniversary.   Meq Q is still
resident in Sydney, Australia, Laura is in the USA but is still
planning to do her MA in Ireland and Suzanne has moved out of
archaeology into Commerce.

I am really pleased that you are both still interested in the field
school and I hope you will continue to check into the Alumni site from
time to time.

We hope to upload a .pdf of excavations at Slievemore in
October/November 2008 so please keep in touch.     The AFS has a
Poster on display at the WAC Conference in Dublin which can be
downloaded from the WAC website at www.ucd.ie/wac-6

Best regards,

Theresa McDonald

Congratulations are extended to three former students of the AFS who
have recently completed post graduate degrees:-

Elizabeth Davis who received her Masters from the University of
Minnesota, USA

Erick Laurila who received his Masters from the University of Arizona, USA

Shannon Dunn who received her PhD. from Syracuse University, USA and

Erica Hanning who received her PhD. from the University of Friburg in
Germany


Congratulations and best wishes from all at the Achill Field School.

---

To: Achill-FieldSchool@yahoogroups.com
From: towritetome@...
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2008 19:15:38 -0700
Subject: Re: [Achill-FieldSchool] Re: Recently joined member of the AFS-Alumni

I'm American Carol... :)

 

I emailed your yahoo account, so you should have a message from me. Are you still in contact with anyone else? I hear from Richard and Jen occasionally. Write if you get a chance. :) I can't believe it's been 12 years, but it was the best summer ever. :)

carriejl317 <pupjean@yahoo.com> wrote:

Yes! I was there as well! My name is Carrie Lemaster, and I was in the
Dooagh house. Sorry - but I can't remember last names. Are you French
Carol or American Carol?

AFS was the best summer EVER. Looks like it's changed quite a bit in
the last 12 years.

Great to hear from a fellow alum! Hope you're doing well!
-Carrie

--- In Achill-FieldSchool@yahoogroups.com, "afs_alumni"
<afs_alumni@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, my name is Carol Grosky and I was at the Achill Field School in
the
> summer of 1996. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Anyone
> else out there from 96? :)
>

A warm hello to all AFS alumni from Achill!

We thought the you all might find the 2008 AFS press release fun to
read. Hope all is well with each and every one of you.

-----------------

ACHILL ARCHAEOLOGY STUDENTS ARRIVE



A group of American and Canadian students have arrived on Achill
Island, to study Ireland's heritage and excavate at the Deserted
Village of Slievemore.



Hosted by the Achill Archaeological Field School, its Director,
Theresa McDonald explained: - "This is an intensive study course for
the students, with lectures, field trips and training in `digging'
and surveying a range of sites at Slievemore and the Deserted
Village."



The training course is led by Nick Brannon, one of Ireland's leading
archaeologists, who said: - "The students' studies cover thousands of
years of Irish archaeology, from the Mesolithic to the 20th century.
They get hands-on experience of the `finds' from the ongoing
excavations, and they will study environmental materials which
illuminate Achill's past climates. The students learn surveying and
excavation techniques, how to analyse buildings in the Deserted
Village, and how to share their knowledge and enjoyment with the many
visitors to the site."    Megan Cullinan, M.A. a former student of
the Field School, ably assists Nick and they will be joined by John
Bennett from Boston University, USA who for the past number of years
has been investigating a group of hut sites at Slievemore and by Dr.
Scott Johnston who initially attended the Field School in 2006.   Our
new Project Archaeologist, Stuart Rathbone, BSc., M.A. will join the
team in early June 2008.



Theresa McDonald said: - "Beginning in 1991, our long-established
record of high archaeological standards, and the `Achill experience',
means that this summer's Field School will also welcome students from
Sweden, Poland, Romania, Italy, England and Australia. Living here on
Achill will introduce them to the world of archaeology and give them
life-long memories of island life."



The Field School students will be joined by other groups later on
this summer who have enrolled for several of the specialised
Continuous Professional Development courses now on offer by the Field
School – Introduction to Digital Survey & Mapping, GIS, Ceramics
Identification, Landscape & Building Survey, Introduction to Maritime
Archaeology and Environmental Archaeology.



For further information on the Field School's activities, contact the
Achill Archaeological Field School, Dooagh, County Mayo (353-98-
43564) or visit the website at www.achill-fieldschool.com

Achill Field School

Evening Lecture Programme 2008

Tuesday May 27th,  Dr. James Lyttleton, University College, Cork.

" The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland"



Tuesday June 3rd,    Professor Michael O'Connell,

Dept. of Botany, National University of Ireland at Galway.

"Medieval Ireland and human impact: new perspectives from a
palaeoecological research"



Tuesday June 10th, Thaddeus Breen. Irish Archaeology.

"Variety and Challenge in Contract Archaeology"



Tuesday June 17th , Darina Tully, NAS

  "The Skin Boat Tradition in Ireland & Achill"



Tuesday, June 24th  TBA



Tuesday, July 1st,    No Lecture – World Archaeology Conference, UCD
Dublin



Tuesday July 8th,   Eoin Halpin, ADS

"The Sands of Time. Caraun Point. Achill and the Archaeology of Irish
Machair Landscapes"



Tuesday July 15th,  Dr. Cormac McSparron

"The dating of Early Neolithic Settlement in
Ireland"



Tuesday July 29th, Stuart Rathbone,

Achill Archaeological Field School

TBA



Tuesday 5th August,  Theresa McDonald,

Achill Archaeological Field School

"The Medlycott Estate in the  Barony of Burrishoole"



Tuesday 12th August, Dr. Audrey Horning,

University of Leicester

"Archaeology of Plantation-period Ireland: a view from the Ulster
alehouse"

Yes! I was there as well! My name is Carrie Lemaster, and I was in the
Dooagh house. Sorry - but I can't remember last names. Are you French
Carol or American Carol?

AFS was the best summer EVER. Looks like it's changed quite a bit in
the last 12 years.

Great to hear from a fellow alum! Hope you're doing well!
-Carrie

--- In Achill-FieldSchool@yahoogroups.com, "afs_alumni"
<afs_alumni@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, my name is Carol Grosky and I was at the Achill Field School in
the
> summer of 1996. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Anyone
> else out there from 96? :)
>

Yes! I was there as well! My name is Carrie Lemaster, and I was in the
Dooagh house. Sorry - but I can't remember last names. Are you French
Carol or American Carol?

AFS was the best summer EVER. Looks like it's changed quite a bit in
the last 12 years.

Great to hear from a fellow alum! Hope you're doing well!
-Carrie

--- In Achill-FieldSchool@yahoogroups.com, "afs_alumni"
<afs_alumni@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, my name is Carol Grosky and I was at the Achill Field School in
the
> summer of 1996. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Anyone
> else out there from 96? :)
>

Hi, my name is Carol Grosky and I was at the Achill Field School in the
summer of 1996. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Anyone
else out there from 96? :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and are settling
into your time off for the New Year! We are busy planning the upcoming
year's field school activities and hope that we'll see some of you
here on Achill in 2008.

Something we've been considering is hosting an Alumni Reunion within
the next two years and would love some ideas on venue, events and
activities.

In recap of some of the upcoming dates and activities:

New this year we have decided to begin offering a yearly scholarship –
the McDonald Scholarship, a 500 Euro competitive essay based
scholarship. Prior to the beginning of the 2008 field season
prospective students are encouraged to submit a short essay on topics
to be announced each year. This year's topic is "Island Archaeology"
to coincide with our October 2008 conference "Archaeology on the
Periphery: Ireland's Island's". Full details can be found on our
website.

In March, we will be hosting a series of student-faculty Achill Spring
Break Archaeology Weeks featuring excavation in the Deserted Village
of Slievemore. These special event weeks can be arranged to fit your
spring break schedules and include accommodation in either our field
school house or in local cottages near the school. These offers are
filling fast, so if you're wondering what to do for spring break
consider a jaunt back to Achill! Just contact us directly if you'd
like to lead a group from your university to Achill and we'll set up a
wonderful week of digging fun.

In May, we will begin our summer programes with 4, 6 and 8 week field
school modules. These are very popular and are described in detail on
our website at www.achill-fieldschool.com. We will also run additional
4, 6 and 8 modules throughout the summer beginning in July. And, we
have decided to rearrange our program dates to more closely fit with
North American academic schedules.

That's it for now. We all here wish you a very happy rest of the
Holiday season and hope to see you in 2008.

All the very best from Achill,

Theresa McDonald

Hello Everyone!

The 2007 AFS season of excavations on Achill were a huge success!
Excavations in the Deserted Village, Round House, and the Upland Hut
site all produce wonderful results. There is a good deal of info on
them all available through Ros O Maolduin's blog (find it in the links
section of the alumni website) and we will be circulating a News
Letter soon to you all with some other general info about last season
and the next.

Also, you will find a new AFS poster available on the Alumni Website:
print, post, and send around to everyone and any body – Especially at
your home Universities!

And, were very happy to also point out some wonderful videos and slid
shows that two of our students from 2007 have produced. Scott Johnson
and Anna (Pixie) have posted their wonderful products on You Tube and
you will find those links on the Alumni Website As well. We'll try to
get the Raw files of these posted on the Alumni Website soon, but for
now go watch them at You Tube and laugh at all the 2007 shenanigans!

Hope this announcement finds you all well. All the best from Achill! –
AFS_Alumni.

Anna's Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/triskaidekiphobic

Scott's Slide Shows:
http://www.youtube.com/user/scottsjohnson2007

Ros's Blog:
http://achill-excavations.blog.com

New AFS Poster Attached.

All of the Above are available through Alumni Website as well.

The following press release was prepared by the Achill Archaeology Center to
announce the recent visit to Achill by a team of aspiring archaeologists from
Cornell University. This press release was printed in Mayo News March, 2007. The
team; assembled by Hanna Ulrich (Cornell University), directed by Theresa
McDonald, and lead Nick Brandon participated in excavations with the Achill
Field School over a ten day  period encompassing St. Patrick’s Day March, 2007.

Also, the photo printed along with the below press release can be found in the
photo album on the AFS~Alumni website.


AMERICAN STUDENTS TO STUDY ACHILL'S HERITAGE

Ten Cornell University students, from New York State, have just
enjoyed a marvellous week, absorbed in the heritage of Achill Island.
Woken at dawn on St Patrick's Day by a lone piper, their special day
continued with archaeological fieldwork at the Deserted Village of
Slievemore, and ended with the band parade and a few pints in Dooagh.

Hosted by the Achill Archaeological Field School, its Director,
Theresa McDonald said :- "Most of the students had no previous
archaeological experience but were drawn to Achill by the range of
activities on offer at the field school and the chance to be here on
St Patrick'sDay. Over the week, they experienced a wide range of
activities – field trips, lectures and excavation. The weather may
have varied from sunshine to horizontal hail, but the students had a
great time!"

The training course was led by Nick Brannon, a leading archaeologists,
who said: - "We taught the students how to excavate and record their
discoveries, and placed their fieldwork in the context of Irish
prehistory and more modern times. The students visited Achill's
megalithic tombs, a medieval lake dwelling and a tower-house. They
handled 400 year-old pottery and learned how to take environmental
samples which provide microscopic insights into ancient life and
landscape."

Theresa McDonald summed up: - "The Field School has hosted several
American university groups over the years, two of whom will again
return to the school in 2007.  The students are always lively, keen to
learn and welcomed on Achill. The Cornell group were accompanied by
Hanna Ullrich, a former student of the school who subsequently did her
Masters thesis on a site at Slievemore, using phosphates to determine
occupation levels. Hanna now plans to do her PhD. at an Irish
university and will be returning to the feild school as a Supervisor
this summer.  Also accompaning the Cornell group was Erica Stupp who
is completing her Masters thesis on GIS applications in archaeology at
Cornell. We know that the Cornell students will have many happy and
unique memories of their time here, and we expect some of them to
return to a place which has captured their imagination!"

For further information on the Field School's activities, contact the
Achill Archaeological Field School, Dooagh, County Mayo (353-98-43564)
or visit the website at www.achill-fieldschool.com


Picture caption – Cornell University students at their excavations at
the Deserted Village on Slievemore, Achill Island (photo:AFS)

Theresa,
  Hello hello:) How are you?? Great to hear from you
and i'm so excited that this forum opened up as my
time at Achill, second session of 2004, was a life
changing exprerience:)I was there when Audrey Horning
was there and Moira was too and then one of your
cousins? got married and I met a few of them, they got
me drunker than a skunk too:) I am happy the
fieldschool is still going strong and that there is
talk of reunions:) I was also wondering if you would
have any advice for me as I would love to find a way
to live in Western Ireland either through study or
work. I have an undergrad in Anthropology and French
and would like to get a doctorate in History! But
basically i am really wanting to go back to Ireland
for an extended amount of time. What would you
suggest?? Well i'd better get to work, I hope you are
well, niki
--- theresa47mcdonald <theresa47mcdonald@...>
wrote:

> Hello everybody!
> Since 1991, it has been my privilege to welcome
> 1500+ students from
> Scandinavia, France, Germany, Belgium, Great
> Britain, the USA, South
> America, Canada, Australia & New Zealand to the
> Achill Archaeological
> Field School and while I cannot claim to remember
> each and every one
> of you, I do very much appreciate the fact that you
> choose to come to
> Achill and participate in the Field School.   Many
> of you have
> successfully continued your education in your own
> country while
> others have opted for further study at Irish and
> British
> universities; some have returned to the field school
> as volunteers, -
> the really enthusiastic `Achill lovers' doing so on
> several
> occasions; others have returned with family and/or
> friends and have
> been made welcome by myself, field school staff and
> numerous locals.
> Over the years, the field school has added several
> new short and
> specialist courses to our programme, all of which
> are detailed on our
> website.     One such course is aimed at Faculty +
> Student groups
> from overseas universities.  To date, three USA
> universities have
> availed of our specially designed faculty 10-day
> module:-Franklin
> Pierce College in New Hampshire, Cornell in New York
> and the
> University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Professors Bob
> Jeske and
> Bettina Arnold from UWM said: ' Achill provides a
> stunning landscape
> coupled with hospitable locals who made us feel very
> welcome. We, and
> our students will take back abiding memories of a
> starkly beautiful
> island where generations worked and died over
> thousands of years,
> leaving a legacy of buildings, field systems, tombs
> and graveyards.
> We were taught to 'read' this marvellous landscape,
> and the weather
> was kind!'  Achill Island has the archaeological
> resources and
> facilities to cater for small groups (25) like those
> from the
> universities listed above.
> The vast amount of research carried out via
> excavation and survey at
> the Deserted Village and at other sites on
> Slievemore Mountain could
> not have been accomplished without input from the
> students and
> dedicated staff who participated in the field school
> since 1991.   A
> monograph detailing the excavations and surveys is
> currently nearing
> completion with publication envisaged in 2007. It is
> also hoped that
> the various Masters and PhD Theses undertaken by
> former students on
> aspects of Achill Island's terrestrial and maritime
> archaeology will
> be made available for dissemination to the public
> via publication or
> through the AFS website.
> In 2006, I was very pleased to receive emails from
> several of the
> students who participated in the 1996 field school,
> reminding me that
> it was 10-year since they had been to the school and
> were obviously
> still feeling nostalgic!  Many other students have
> expressed a wish
> for a 'get-together' in Achill or the USA, so maybe
> John Bennett, a
> former student (2003) and our Alumni administrator,
> might set the
> ball rolling to see how many people would like to
> meet up, either in
> the USA or Achill Island.  Go for it!
> All of us at the Field School appreciate the many
> emails, photos etc.
> that former students send to the school from time to
> time, so please
> do continue to keep in touch.
> My best regards to you all.
>
> Theresa McDonald
>
>
>
>




________________________________________________________________________________\
____
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Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.
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Hello everybody!
Since 1991, it has been my privilege to welcome 1500+ students from
Scandinavia, France, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, the USA, South
America, Canada, Australia & New Zealand to the Achill Archaeological
Field School and while I cannot claim to remember each and every one
of you, I do very much appreciate the fact that you choose to come to
Achill and participate in the Field School.   Many of you have
successfully continued your education in your own country while
others have opted for further study at Irish and British
universities; some have returned to the field school as volunteers, -
the really enthusiastic `Achill lovers' doing so on several
occasions; others have returned with family and/or friends and have
been made welcome by myself, field school staff and numerous locals.
Over the years, the field school has added several new short and
specialist courses to our programme, all of which are detailed on our
website.     One such course is aimed at Faculty + Student groups
from overseas universities.  To date, three USA universities have
availed of our specially designed faculty 10-day module:-Franklin
Pierce College in New Hampshire, Cornell in New York and the
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Professors Bob Jeske and
Bettina Arnold from UWM said: ' Achill provides a stunning landscape
coupled with hospitable locals who made us feel very welcome. We, and
our students will take back abiding memories of a starkly beautiful
island where generations worked and died over thousands of years,
leaving a legacy of buildings, field systems, tombs and graveyards.
We were taught to 'read' this marvellous landscape, and the weather
was kind!'  Achill Island has the archaeological resources and
facilities to cater for small groups (25) like those from the
universities listed above.
The vast amount of research carried out via excavation and survey at
the Deserted Village and at other sites on Slievemore Mountain could
not have been accomplished without input from the students and
dedicated staff who participated in the field school since 1991.   A
monograph detailing the excavations and surveys is currently nearing
completion with publication envisaged in 2007. It is also hoped that
the various Masters and PhD Theses undertaken by former students on
aspects of Achill Island's terrestrial and maritime archaeology will
be made available for dissemination to the public via publication or
through the AFS website.
In 2006, I was very pleased to receive emails from several of the
students who participated in the 1996 field school, reminding me that
it was 10-year since they had been to the school and were obviously
still feeling nostalgic!  Many other students have expressed a wish
for a 'get-together' in Achill or the USA, so maybe John Bennett, a
former student (2003) and our Alumni administrator, might set the
ball rolling to see how many people would like to meet up, either in
the USA or Achill Island.  Go for it!
All of us at the Field School appreciate the many emails, photos etc.
that former students send to the school from time to time, so please
do continue to keep in touch.
My best regards to you all.

Theresa McDonald

A very warm hello from Achill to all AFS~Alumni,

Our 2007 poster is now available for download from the alumni site.
You may now download and print out this poster for view in your home
department, university, institution or wherever you like. We encourage
you to endorse the program by not only hanging this poster for view in
your home department but also by emailing it as an attachment to
anyone you wish.

Notice the landscape and workday photos included in this poster. The
currently running photo contest in competition for a copy of Mrs.
McDonald's book Achill Island: Archaeology – History – Folklore, is
also for the winners inclusion of their photos within next year's 2008
poster. Keep the submissions coming!

Remember:

The first call of the AFS-Alumni is to join us and submit your
favorite "Achill Landscape" and best "On-site workday" photographs
taken while you were with the program. Over the coming weeks all
members of the alumni-site will vote on their favorites and the winner
of each category will receive a copy of Theresa McDonald's
book, Achill Island: Archaeology – History – Folklore (1997/2006). The
winning photographs will also appear on the 2008 poster used for
advertising the field school. We are all excited to see your favorite
photos and reminisce about the good times.

All the very best from Achill, AFS~Alumni.

I wanna give a shout out to all the crazy bone-diggers from summer of
2004!!!!! Hope to hear from y'all, niki (lady sophie of sunnyvale, or
something like that)

ps: remember: love is spelled l-u-s-t on Achill Island:)
ps2: Hey Sandy: can't wait to see your alaskan pics!!

Looking forward to hearing from 1997 alumni.
Thanks for posting this group!

A very warm hello from Achill to all AFS~Alumni,

We are about to send out one more round of invitations to join the
AFS~Alumni website so if you receive a request to join and are already
a member please disregard that email.

Once this last round of invitations is sent out we will be posting our
first AFS~Alumni Newsletter so that you all can be caught up on
current happenings. It is our hope that you will read this newsletter
and reply to the website with a tidbit or two about yourself and what
your up too these days.

Also, don't forget that all of you have the power to invite your
friends from Achill to join you here with us. The "Invite"
link/function on the Alumni website is very easy to use and we
encourage you to do so.

To all those who have submitted photos thus far in competition for a
copy of Theresa's book and the inclusion of your photos on the poster
we produce every year to advertise the field school; Soon your photos
will appear on the Alumni site under the "Photos" link for everyone to
view and vote on under the "Polls" link. Thank you for your
submissions thus far (some really good ones have come in), and we are
looking forward to receiving more. Good luck everyone!

Also, within the coming days our current AFS~Poster will be made
available for download from the Alumni site so you can hang one in
your department or anywhere else you wish.

All the very best from Achill, AFS~Alumni.

Hi everyone!
I have some photo's to submit, but I need to figure out how to get
them off my broken computer and send them on one that works!  I look
forward to hearing how everyone is doing and how the Field School is
doing as well!

Sandy from Alaska

New AFS~Alumni Member Directory Database!!

Welcome to the AFS~Alumni Network! We here on Achill are very glad to
hear from you. We are hoping that this network will provide an easy
way for all of us to keep in touch and work together, so we have
created a new member directory database on our new AFS~Alumni website.
Here you can input all your contact info so that we know just who you
are and how to reach you. And, by adding your contact info to this
database all your friends from the field school can easily see that
you've joined us and see how to reach you!

Please log into the alumni-website, navigate to the database section
and there you will see the "AFS~Alumni-Member-Directory". Once there,
click on "Add Record" and simply enter your contact info. That's it.
We do hope that everyone will eventually add there contact info so
that we can all easily keep in touch.

All the very best from Achill, AFS~Alumni.

Don't forget about the photo contest!!

The first call of the AFS-Alumni is to join us and submit your best
"Achill Landscape" and best "On-site workday Deserted Village"
photographs taken while you were with the programme. Over the coming
weeks all members of the alumni-site will vote on their favourites and
the winner of each category will receive a copy of Theresa McDonald's
book, Achill Island: Archaeology – History – Folklore (1997/2006). The
winning photographs may also appear on a new poster being designed for
advertising the field school. We are all excited to see your favorite
photos and reminisce about the good times.

~ If at all possible please decrease the file size of your submitted
photos via Photoshop, Word or any other capable application and send
you're submissions via email to: afs_alumni@... ~

The Achill Island Archaeological Field School Alumni Website is now
officially open to all AFS~Alumni. We have recently sent out over 150
invitations but inevitably this may not reach some of the alumni.
Please do get the word out and invite your friends and colleagues whom
we may have missed due to invalid or old addresses and invite them to
join you here with us. Remember to add you're AFS info to your Yahoo
ID and post a message to the website with that info so that all your
friends from the field school know you've joined.

Don't forget about the Photo Contest!

The first call of the AFS-Alumni is to join us and submit your best
"Achill Landscape" and best "On-site workday Deserted Village"
photographs taken while you were with the programme. Over the coming
weeks all members of the alumni-site will vote on their favourites and
the winner of each category will receive a copy of Theresa McDonald's
book, Achill Island: Archaeology – History – Folklore (1997/2006). The
winning photographs may also appear on a new poster being designed for
advertising the field school. We are all excited to see your favorite
photos and reminisce about the good times.

~ If at all possible please decrease the file size of your submitted
photos via Photoshop, Word or any other capable application and send
you're submissions via email to: afs_alumni@... ~

All the very best from all of us on Achill Island, ASF~Alumni