Latest news with #NMNI
Belfast Telegraph
17-05-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Calls for thatch training after ‘tiger trap' health and safety risk spotted at NI folk park
One member of the public warned that the 'tiger trap' was spotted at eye height on a property that was first built in the 1850s in Coshkib, Cushendall before being dismantled and moved to the museum in 1965. They said the pegs 'could have taken someone's eye out'. 'It is unbelievable for a thatcher to leave a job that way so someone over 5ft 10 could lose an eye or worse;' they continued. The unimpressed visitor, who spotted the problem last October, informed National Museums NI (NMNI) of the hazards. But after not receiving an initial response they approached the Health and Safety Executive and Ards and North Down Borough Council with concerns. A spokesperson for NMNI, which cares for 24 thatched buildings across its two outdoor museums, insisted swift action was taken. 'In November 2024, following a complaint about exposed pegs on a thatched outbuilding at Coshkib Hill Farm, Ards and North Down Borough Council carried out an inspection,' they said. 'We acted promptly by closing the area in question, and bringing in a specialist contractor to resolve the issue.' But a trained master thatcher with over 30 years' experience in the trade believes more needs to be done to protect the craft in Northern Ireland. Mark Taggart is demanding that museums which don't properly reflect our thatched heritage be held accountable. Mr Taggart said the blame lies with the training provided to those tasked with carrying out specialist work as there is no set specification currently in place when working on thatched roofs. 'It's a real shame that museums like these — which are supposed to be preserving these trades and old traditional skills — are lacking,' he said. 'Of all the places to be correct, it is a shambles that the Ulster Folk Museum are not representing our heritage properly. 'They are not across the (specification) of the methods used as some are spotted as English methods using English tools, not like what way we would have built them here. 'The state of some of the roofs is appalling as well with huge dips in the thatch.' The 59-year-old craftsman said that an official depth specification for working with thatch — which all workmen need to abide by — is the only solution to 'combat cowboy thatchers'. 'This type of thatching really should be lasting longer, not just a couple of years, and the reason it doesn't is all down to who is carrying out the work,' he said. 'Where are they trained? Who is teaching our future thatchers? Who vets the trainers teaching the craft? 'They say the craft is under extreme risk, but it already is, and if nothing is done about it, it will die out. 'I personally believe that these training schools that are currently running and teaching people these skills are sewing the seeds of total destruction of the trade and something needs to be done about it.' A spokesperson for the Department for Communities confirmed that there is 'no dedicated thatch training school in Northern Ireland.' 'However, the department's Heritage Skills Centre at Moira runs heritage skills training and taster days in a range of areas such as thatching,' they added. CITB NI is the Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council for Construction. A spokesperson for the body said that 'there is no British Standard governing the specification of work to thatched roofs'. 'Though there are common depths employed for thatch in England, this is not the case in Northern Ireland,' they said. 'The key issue, therefore, in respect of training, is that students are clear on the implications for weathering, loading and longevity of applying different depths of thatch to roofs and that owners are clear on what they are purchasing when work is proposed.' Earlier this month, CITB NI received £739,878 from the National Lottery Fund for their Future for Thatch project which aims to provide a training programme for a new generation of thatchers and support thatched building owners to care for their roofs. The spokesperson continued: 'Depth will form part of the case-by-case specifications for works undertaken as part of the Future for Thatch training programme.' In 2022, the Department for Communities published a report that recorded 186 thatched buildings in Northern Ireland. The survey recorded that 36 of these buildings had metal coverings and that 29 of these sites were in very poor condition.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Family is paramount': Museum remains return from NI to Hawaii
Ancestral human remains "grave robbed" and brought to Belfast almost 200 years ago have begun their journey back to Hawaii. The human remains were repatriated in an emotional ceremony held at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, attended by representatives from Hawaii. Halealoha Ayau from the Hawaiian organisation Hui Iwi Kuamo'o thanked the people of Belfast "for the time that they took care of our ancestors". "That original taking was illicit, was unethical, was a form of desecration," he told BBC News NI. Mr Ayau said that "family is paramount" to Hawaiian people. "We don't have to know who these people are, we just have to know they are Hawaiian. "The living have a responsibility to them to bring them back, and to replant them into our land." Mr Ayau said that the remains would again be buried in Hawaii. "They can continue their journey and that journey is to de-compose, to become elemental again and their spirit allowed to travel on," he said. "Now they're trapped because this process was interfered with, and when they're trapped as descendants we're trapped. "And so this allows them the freedom they need to move on, but it allows us the freedom of not having to carry that anguish." Some human remains and other sacred objects had previously been repatriated by National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) to Hawaii in 2022. That came after NMNI had identified some items stolen from other countries or connected to the slave trade among its collections. But following the 2022 ceremony, NMNI then located further ancestral human remains (iwi kūpuna) taken from Hawaii in 1840 among its collections. It is believed that Gordon Augustus Thomson, who travelled from Belfast to Hawaii in 1840, had removed iwi kūpuna from burial caves and donated them to Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society in 1857. They were later given to the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, the precursor to the Ulster Museum, in the early years of the 20th century. Attendees at the repatriation ceremony were told by Kū'ike Kamakea-ʻŌhelo from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) that Thomson was a "grave robber" who had "desecrated the graves of our ancestors". The ceremony was attended by representatives from OHA, Hui Iwi Kuamo'o, NMNI, and the United States Embassy. In a speech at the ceremony, the US consul in Northern Ireland, James Applegate, said the remains were being returned to their "rightful place". The chief executive of National Museums NI, Kathryn Thomson, said that it was committed to "addressing wrongs of the past". "I think it's really important that we are always asking ourselves what we have in our collection and why," she told BBC News NI. "We are very happy today to return these remains to the Hawaiian people. "We knew that the reason why we had those wasn't legitimate." The head of curatorial at NMNI, Hannah Crowdy, said that it was a "huge honour" to host the visitors from Hawaii. "There's lots of evidence when collections came here by means that we don't think are acceptable today," she said. "And to redress those wrongs and to fully represent and respect different cultures a move like this is really significant for us." Ms Crowdy said that returning human remains was decided on a "case by case basis." "We're very much responsive to source communities," she said. "They're the ones that these remains have special significance for, they're the ones that know the cultural sensitivities of how they should be treated. "We are responding to different cultures around the world in terms of what they want to happen to their ancestral remains. "Often it's quite delicate, involved work to try and work out the exact provenance of where the remains are from so we can make those decisions." Kū'ike Kamakea-ʻŌhelo said that the repatriation of the remains marked a "journey of cultural restoration and healing". He called those attending the ceremony "stewards of history, heritage and humanity." "Let this moment serve as a beacon of hope," he said.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Ulster Museum: 'Grave-robbed' remains returning to Hawaii from Belfast
Ancestral human remains "grave robbed" and brought to Belfast almost 200 years ago have begun their journey back to human remains were repatriated in an emotional ceremony held at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, attended by representatives from Ayau from the Hawaiian organisation Hui Iwi Kuamo'o thanked the people of Belfast "for the time that they took care of our ancestors"."That original taking was illicit, was unethical, was a form of desecration," he told BBC News NI. Mr Ayau said that "family is paramount" to Hawaiian people."We don't have to know who these people are, we just have to know they are Hawaiian."The living have a responsibility to them to bring them back, and to replant them into our land."Mr Ayau said that the remains would again be buried in Hawaii."They can continue their journey and that journey is to de-compose, to become elemental again and their spirit allowed to travel on," he said."Now they're trapped because this process was interfered with, and when they're trapped as descendants we're trapped."And so this allows them the freedom they need to move on, but it allows us the freedom of not having to carry that anguish." Some human remains and other sacred objects had previously been repatriated by National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) to Hawaii in came after NMNI had identified some items stolen from other countries or connected to the slave trade among its following the 2022 ceremony, NMNI then located further ancestral human remains (iwi kūpuna) taken from Hawaii in 1840 among its is believed that Gordon Augustus Thomson, who travelled from Belfast to Hawaii in 1840, had removed iwi kūpuna from burial caves and donated them to Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society in were later given to the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, the precursor to the Ulster Museum, in the early years of the 20th at the repatriation ceremony were told by Kū'ike Kamakea-ʻŌhelo from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) that Thomson was a "grave robber" who had "desecrated the graves of our ancestors".The ceremony was attended by representatives from OHA, Hui Iwi Kuamo'o, NMNI, and the United States a speech at the ceremony, the US consul in Northern Ireland, James Applegate, said the remains were being returned to their "rightful place". The chief executive of National Museums NI, Kathryn Thomson, said that it was committed to "addressing wrongs of the past"."I think it's really important that we are always asking ourselves what we have in our collection and why," she told BBC News NI."We are very happy today to return these remains to the Hawaiian people."We knew that the reason why we had those wasn't legitimate."The head of curatorial at NMNI, Hannah Crowdy, said that it was a "huge honour" to host the visitors from Hawaii."There's lots of evidence when collections came here by means that we don't think are acceptable today," she said."And to redress those wrongs and to fully represent and respect different cultures a move like this is really significant for us." Ms Crowdy said that returning human remains was decided on a "case by case basis.""We're very much responsive to source communities," she said."They're the ones that these remains have special significance for, they're the ones that know the cultural sensitivities of how they should be treated."We are responding to different cultures around the world in terms of what they want to happen to their ancestral remains."Often it's quite delicate, involved work to try and work out the exact provenance of where the remains are from so we can make those decisions."Kū'ike Kamakea-ʻŌhelo said that the repatriation of the remains marked a "journey of cultural restoration and healing".He called those attending the ceremony "stewards of history, heritage and humanity.""Let this moment serve as a beacon of hope," he said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Iron Age remains found in bog may have been sacrificial
Ancient human remains discovered in peatland in County Londonderry in 2023 are now thought to be those of a young woman who died more than two millennia ago. She is believed to have been killed as part of an Iron Age ritual or sacrifice. When the 2,000 year old remains were initially discovered close to Bellaghy it was thought they could be those of a teenage boy. But experts from the Ulster Museum and a number of universities, including Queen's University Belfast (QUB), have carried out further research on the body. The remains, which were discovered in October 2023, are now thought to be those of a young woman aged between 17 and 22 years old. She was about 5ft 6in tall (1.7m). Dating to approximately 343 to 1 BC they are more than 2000 years old, and from the prehistoric period known as the Iron Age. The remains will now be called the "Ballymacombs More Woman" after the townland where they were found. Curator of archaeology at National Museums NI (NMNI), Niamh Baker, told BBC News NI the discovery of the remains was "very significant". "There was evidence of cut marks on the neck vertebrae," she said. Ms Baker said it showed "that the individual had been intentionally decapitated at the bog". During the discovery in 2023, no skull was recovered with the remains. "It was likely that that was taken away at the time, during the Iron Age," Ms Baker added. "Perhaps it is part of a pattern of ritual killings and is a pattern of that across North-West Europe and Ireland." QUB professor of archaeology Eileen Murphy carried out an assessment of the body. She said the young woman's fate was not untypical of finds from the era. "As is the case for so many Iron Age bog bodies, the young woman suffered a highly violent death which involved the flow of blood from her throat followed by decapitation," she said. "The head was taken away, but the body was left where it fell only to be discovered by machine workers some 2,000 years later." Ms Baker said more research would now be carried out on the remains, to provide more clues about how people lived during the Iron Age. "We'll hopefully find out information potentially about her diet, potentially about her movement," she said. "That will be able to determine information about who she was, perhaps what population she was part of. "There's very little evidence that tells us about everyday life during the Iron Age. "What has survived are high-quality, prestige artefacts and objects that tell us that during this time there was a social elite. Some woven fabric, made of plant material, was found with the body and may go on display in the future. Navan Fort in County Armagh is the best known Iron Age settlement in Northern Ireland. Photos of the remains were released by the PSNI shortly after they were discovered, but they are unlikely to go on public display in the Ulster Museum. That is because, according to NMNI's head of curatorial, Hannah Crowdy, museums have to "think very carefully" about the human remains they hold and how to treat them respectfully. "The nature of death of this individual was that she was decapitated and obviously that means the remains are in a certain condition that might be distressing for people to see," she said. "There has to be a really strong argument for displaying them, we would never want to display them for sensational purposes." "We think we can do a really compelling, really interesting display to help people understand the processes and to tell this young woman's story without showing her remains to the public." That could include artist's impressions of how the young woman appeared when she was alive. Hannah Crowdy said conversations were also taking place about Takabuti, the Egyptian mummy, which has been one of the Ulster Museum's best known exhibits for generations. "There's lots of complex issues to explore," she said. "With Takabuti there's a very active conversation about if and how she's displayed and about her future." The museum has brought together a range of experts from across the UK and Egypt to discuss Takabuti's future. "They're helping inform our thinking on this, and we're also talking to our audiences," she said. Ms Crowdy added there are strong arguments for and against displaying Takabuti. "We're just navigating those at the moment and trying to do as much consultation as we can."
BBC News
20-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Iron Age: Ancient remains of woman may have been sacrificial
Ancient human remains discovered in peatland in County Londonderry in 2023 are now thought to be those of a young woman who died more than two millennia is believed to have been killed as part of an Iron Age ritual or the 2,000 year old remains were initially discovered close to Bellaghy it was thought they could be those of a teenage experts from the Ulster Museum and a number of universities, including Queen's University Belfast (QUB), have carried out further research on the body. The remains, which were discovered in October 2023, are now thought to be those of a young woman aged between 17 and 22 years was about 5ft 6in tall (1.7m).Dating to approximately 343 to 1 BC they are more than 2000 years old, and from the prehistoric period known as the Iron remains will now be called the "Ballymacombs More Woman" after the townland where they were of archaeology at National Museums NI (NMNI), Niamh Baker, told BBC News NI the discovery of the remains was "very significant"."There was evidence of cut marks on the neck vertebrae," she Baker said it showed "that the individual had been intentionally decapitated at the bog".During the discovery in 2023, no skull was recovered with the remains."It was likely that that was taken away at the time, during the Iron Age," Ms Baker added."Perhaps it is part of a pattern of ritual killings and is a pattern of that across North-West Europe and Ireland." QUB professor of archaeology Eileen Murphy carried out an assessment of the said the young woman's fate was not untypical of finds from the era."As is the case for so many Iron Age bog bodies, the young woman suffered a highly violent death which involved the flow of blood from her throat followed by decapitation," she said."The head was taken away, but the body was left where it fell only to be discovered by machine workers some 2,000 years later." Ms Baker said more research would now be carried out on the remains, to provide more clues about how people lived during the Iron Age."We'll hopefully find out information potentially about her diet, potentially about her movement," she said."That will be able to determine information about who she was, perhaps what population she was part of."There's very little evidence that tells us about everyday life during the Iron Age."What has survived are high-quality, prestige artefacts and objects that tell us that during this time there was a social woven fabric, made of plant material, was found with the body and may go on display in the future. 'Treating remains respectfully' Navan Fort in County Armagh is the best known Iron Age settlement in Northern of the remains were released by the PSNI shortly after they were discovered, but they are unlikely to go on public display in the Ulster is because, according to NMNI's head of curatorial, Hannah Crowdy, museums have to "think very carefully" about the human remains they hold and how to treat them respectfully."The nature of death of this individual was that she was decapitated and obviously that means the remains are in a certain condition that might be distressing for people to see," she said."There has to be a really strong argument for displaying them, we would never want to display them for sensational purposes.""We think we can do a really compelling, really interesting display to help people understand the processes and to tell this young woman's story without showing her remains to the public."That could include artist's impressions of how the young woman appeared when she was alive. Hannah Crowdy said conversations were also taking place about Takabuti, the Egyptian mummy, which has been one of the Ulster Museum's best known exhibits for generations."There's lots of complex issues to explore," she said."With Takabuti there's a very active conversation about if and how she's displayed and about her future."The museum has brought together a range of experts from across the UK and Egypt to discuss Takabuti's future."They're helping inform our thinking on this, and we're also talking to our audiences," she Crowdy added there are strong arguments for and against displaying Takabuti. "We're just navigating those at the moment and trying to do as much consultation as we can."
