SLU Professor Continues Archaeological Discoveries in Ireland

The remains of a high status Gaelic settlement was discovered over the summer by Thomas Finan, Ph.D., professor of history and director of the Center for Digital Humanities, and his colleagues during an archeological dig in County Roscommon, Ireland.

The site, known as Port-na-Carraig, is noted in the historical sources as the market town for the McDermot lord in the Middle Ages, Finan said.

“The historical research around this site has been an ongoing interest of mine for decades,” Finan said. “We have spent the last three years conducting topographical, geophysical and UAV-aerial surveys at the site, and we were convinced that this particular site was the location of a market town mentioned in the Irish annals in the 1230s. With that, we moved to excavation this summer.”

Finan and his colleagues Jim Schryver from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Irish archaeologist Alan Hayden excavated the site over the summer. They turned up a number of curious finds that tentatively suggest the validity of the research objectives Finan set out for his 2016 Presidential Research Fund awarded in 2016.

“This research is ongoing and groundbreaking, but at a base level, we are convinced that we will be able to answer a number of critical questions about the social and economic structures of Gaelic society in the Middle Ages, including issues of trade and commerce,” Finan said.

“While it was a bit risky, we opened a trench across the main ditch of the settlement in hopes of finding refuse thrown into the ditch over the years,” he continued. “The ditch turned out to be over two meters deep and posed challenges because of the wet weather this year. However, we discovered evidence of grain processing, metal working and trade, and this all combined is of fundamental interest.”

This year’s dig did provide new discoveries, but it was not without its challenges, particularly with the weather.

“It was rough-going with a very wet summer,” Finan said, “but the archaeology was exceptional and exciting.”

To add to the thrill of discovery, a television crew from HEC-TV in St. Louis, documented the project. Its production will air later this year.

Finan said he and his colleagues found the presence of the film crew added an interesting dimension to their work.

“Having a film crew on site actually made the project more enjoyable, because we had five great people who knew little about archaeology or Ireland asking questions that were thoughtful and intentional,” he said.  “I think their production is going to be absolutely fantastic.”

On July 25, Finan delivered a lecture to the local community at the Boyle Arts Festival, one of the premier specifically Irish cultural gatherings in the west of Ireland. Finan was thrilled by the size of the crowd who wanted to hear his lecture.

“I’ve never given a lecture where it was so crowded that they actually had to turn people away for health and safety,” he said, excitedly. “The response was overwhelming, and the support of the local population in Ireland has always been a positive factor in my work.”