Latest news with #RuairíÓBaoill
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Science
- Belfast Telegraph
Amateur archaeologists uncover castle foundations and ancient artefacts at NI site
The foundations of a large building, believed to be part of the castle and dating back to the 17th or 18th century, were uncovered during a community archaeology dig, led by experts from Queen's University, Belfast, in partnership with Lisburn Museum. News Catch Up - Thursday 12th June The discovery was made by an enthusiastic group of school children, community volunteers and Queen's University archaeology students, who have been working alongside Queen's archaeologists, at the site of Moira Demesne. They are just days into the four-week dig and so far the group has found building foundations, walls and cobbles, as well as wine bottles, pottery, old coins and Neolithic flint flakes. Some of the artefacts date back to 6,000 years ago. 'Archaeology is all about people, we're able to learn about those who lived here. We've found bottles and animal bones' The excavation, which was organised by the Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland (CAPNI) and funded by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is being undertaken in partnership with Lisburn City and Castlereagh City Council. Ruairí Ó Baoill from the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's is leading the excavation. 'We are just five days into this excavation and we are absolutely delighted with what we've found so far. We are on track to find several thousand artefacts and some of these are 6,000 years old,' he said. 'It's amazing to get such well-preserved masonry, walls and cobbles. Within a few days we've already found the outlines of walls and a really beautiful cobbled surface. This allows us to work out the layout of the building.' He adds: 'Archaeology is all about people — we're able to learn about those who lived here. We've found wine bottles and animal bones. This tells a lot about their lifestyle and their diet. 'The pottery being imported from Germany shows us that these were high status people. There's also pottery with links to England. Their presence on our site tells us about the trade connections that were once in place.' Talking about the volunteers, Ruairí says: 'The volunteers and school children, organised through the Lisburn Museum, have been fantastic. 'They have found so much in the last few days, it's great for them and they've had a chance to work with the Queen's archaeologists — this means they can now identify lots of different artefacts. 'We have a Bronze Age ditch still to dig in the next couple of weeks and that's something I'm really looking forward to. It's all about learning about history and the survival of the archaeology here is first class.' Councillor Tim Mitchell, Communities and Wellbeing Chair of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, said: 'The dig offers a fantastic opportunity for the local community to help uncover the past. 'With each lift of the trowel, we are learning so much about the Rawdon family, who built the towns of Lisburn and Moira and became one of the UK and Ireland's most significant landowning families. 'This dig pushes our knowledge of settlement on the Moira Demense site to the Bronze Age, and possibly further, which is hugely exciting, and we look forward to displaying the finds in Lisburn Museum in due course. 'This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the public to get involved in an archaeological dig in their own area. Volunteers can still take part and we would urge anyone interested to get in touch with Lisburn Museum to book a slot now.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Moira: Castle under village park could date to 17th century
Archaeologists believe they have found the remains of an ancient castle in a public park in Moira - but works are ongoing to uncover whether it dates from the 1800s or is an earlier structure built in the park in the County Down village is owned by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council but 250 years ago it was part of an estate belonging to the earl of Moira. Maps show a house was built on the site in the 17th century, revamped in the 18th century and demolished in the early 19th century. The ongoing excavation is being supported by the Community Archaeology Programme NI (CAPNI) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Ruairí Ó Baoill an archaeologist with the Centre for Community Archaeology at Queen's University Belfast, said it was possible the findings included both castles."What we're seeing are the walls of buildings and the cobbled surfaces around them," he said."They probably date to the 18th century. The buildings themselves were demolished in the early 1800s - so we are trying to find out if they are part of the 18th century Moira castle demesne or are they from the earlier castle that was built in the 1650s."This is the second dig at the site, with a smaller excavation taking place in then the team found a ditch dated to the late bronze age "maybe two and a half thousand years ago", he said. "But 10cm below our feet we're going back 250 years."This year's dig only began a week ago and will continue until the end of the is hoped artefacts from three different eras will be site every day are first year archaeology students at Queen's University Belfast, while pupils from a host of local schools are also taking part. Aoife Lynch, a first year archaeology student at Queens University Belfast, is taking part in her first ever far she has found two floor tiles, which are yet to be dated/She is confident they are old due to the "red clay" at their centre. Arthur Redfern from Essex is a first year archaeology student at Queen's said the key to trowelling was to "keep shovelling the muck back and try not to look behind you at how much you have left to do"."It's so satisfying seeing it all unearth itself in front of your eyes," he said. Among the school groups coming to the site are St Patrick's Academy from Lisburn. Year 10 student Amy, who is hoping for a career in archaeology, said she loved activities like the dig in Moira. "It's interesting as most people wouldn't realise there could be something here," she 10 pupils Neil and Eoghan's dream find is in the absence of that they are enjoying the fieldwork."It is definitely more interesting being out here doing this," said well as the cobbles and walls, the team have found slates, pottery and coins. All items will be studied to ascertain their date. When the dig is over hundreds of sods will carefully cover the structure which will once again be hidden from view but will have offered up a greater understanding of what lies beneath.
