ireland Celtic Tiger archaeology

When the Celtic Tiger

the golden years of commercial
archaeology in Ireland

During the Celtic Tiger economic boom, Ireland experienced a period of

prosperity which led to an unprecedented ‘golden age’ for commercial
archaeology. In a four-part series, Brendon Wilkins examines the top sites,
finds and controversies that defined over a decade of discovery.

I
magine a place where the term ‘million- Above Frosty morning: imagine also that these excavations were fiercely
aire archaeologist’ would not sound looking south on the N9/ regulated to control their quality. This sounds like
N10 motorway project
photo: Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd

ridiculous, and where young archae-
ology students could look forward to
excellent career prospects with salaries
equivalent to any other profession.
Imagine hundreds of excavations up and down
the country crying out for help, willing to pay
handsomely, even for inexperienced diggers;
an archaeo-utopia: but for a short time it existed.
at Russellstown, County
Carlow. This was Ireland’s Celtic Tiger archaeology.
Current Archaeology last published a special
issue on Irish archaeology in September 1970 (CA
22). The sites reported on then by Andrew Selkirk
(Knowth, Newgrange, Navan Fort and Ballyglass)
remained state-of-the-art for the following 30

12 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk October 2010 |

roared
The road building programme in
Ireland initiated some of the largest
infrastructure archaeology projects
undertaken anywhere in the world.
p15); sadly, this bad publicity seems to have been
Ireland’s biggest archaeological export. Few will
have heard news of the multitude of fantastic sites
found during these years, both nationally and
internationally significant, which have revolu-
tionised accepted knowledge of Irish archaeology.
This series of features will redress the balance, by
profiling the ‘best of the best’ of the work that has
electrified archaeology in Ireland.

Boom and bust

There is a strong argument to be made that Ire-
land’s archaeology boom began at precisely
9.00am on 22 February 2002, and finished at
exactly 2.00pm, 6 November 2008. Seminars
were held on both days by the National Roads
Authority (NRA); although they did not feel like
turning points at the time, hindsight shows these
meetings book-end a period during which Ire-
land was the best country in the world to be an
archaeologist. The first seminar, riding the wave
of European funding, was intended to open the
doors to international archaeological consultan-
cies as construction-led demand for archaeolo-
gists far outstripped supply. The second was the
harbinger of doom as Ireland’s Department of
Finance unveiled a new archaeological contract
template, introduced in the wake of steep public
spending cuts. 

below National Roads Authority excavations, 1992-2010.

700

600

500

400
years. The eminent archaeologists interviewed
in that issue, and the sites which they excavated, 300
eventually came to dominate Irish archaeology.
Now, the sheer scale of work undertaken during
graph: National Roads Authority

200
the boom has challenged the accepted wisdom of
many key site types and periods. 100
During the Celtic Tiger prosperity, the world
became aware of the contentious Irish sites that 0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
made international headlines (see box feature on

| Issue 247 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 13

 ireland Celtic Tiger archaeology

war reconstruction boom happened long before

such restrictions were commonplace.
Weighing up the legacy of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ eco-
nomic boom, it is clear that it was a golden age for
archaeologists; however, was it also a golden age
for archaeology? And, what insight does that give
us into how archaeology is practised in the UK?

Rumsfeldian archaeology
The majority of archaeologists in both Britain
and Ireland are employed to work on develop-
ment-led (commercial) projects. Embedding
archaeology in the planning process has been
called ‘Rumsfeldian Archaeology’, because it is
best explained by a somewhat mystifying speech
given by the former US Secretary of State for
Defence, Donald Rumsfeld:

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.
12 February 2002,
Department of Defence news briefing

In both Britain and Ireland, large-scale devel-

Above Today’s news,
tomorrow’s chip paper:
whenever archaeology
is in the news in the UK,
it is a positive story; in
contrast, during the Celtic
Tiger, archaeology made
headlines in Ireland for all
the wrong reasons.
Archaeologists have never quite shared in soci-
ety’s wealth, no matter how successful the wider
economy. In Ireland, however, the archaeology
boom was fuelled by longer-term trends: gen-
erous European structural funding, attractive tax
incentives and, crucially for archaeology, a com-
prehensive National Development Plan designed
to fix the country’s inadequate infrastructure.
With an annual budget of €1.5bn, the road
building programme in Ireland initiated some
of the largest infrastructure archaeology projects
undertaken anywhere in the world. Irish archae-
ology benefitted significantly from this unprec-
edented investment, underwritten by a cast-iron
legal framework designed to protect the historic
environment from development impact – a situ-
ation that differed from Britain, where the post-
opments are preceded by an impact assessment
where archaeological remains are a material con-
sideration (the known knowns). In the case of
road schemes, these known sites are avoided, and
a desk-based study of maps, documents and other
non-invasive techniques is used to assess the land
adjacent to these sites: the known unknowns. If
these have archaeological potential, test-trenches
will be excavated to evaluate whether full excava-
tion should proceed.
In Ireland, these trenches are not just focused
around known areas of potential. The entire road
corridor is comprehensively tested, with a centre-
line trench running from start to finish, designed
to find the unknown unknowns; sites that would
otherwise fall through the net. This represents
a considerable investment in the front end of
archaeological works prior to construction, com-
pared to Britain where a much smaller percentage
of the road corridor is tested.

14 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk October 2010 |

 Excavations in Twomileborris, Co. Tipperary, were directed by
Mícheál Ó Droma and conducted by a crew of 100 people
over 14 months. The multi-period remains, which spanned
a linear kilometre, included evidence from the Middle
Bronze Age roundhouse through to the Early Medieval.
Later evidence included three structures of 16th century

PHOTO: National Roads Authority

date thought to be associated with a nearby tower-house, a
watermill (preserved in situ) and a 19th century limekiln and
limestone extraction pits. A hoard of 57 silver coins, a bronze
pin and an unusual bone object carved into the likeness of a
crenellated castle tower were also found. Interpretation of
the rich findings from this site, and the dissemination of the
results, is ongoing.

The Anglo-Irish Disagreement tion to ‘total archaeology’ in Ireland and ‘sample

Perhaps the reason this time-pressured system is
manageable in Britain is because they have a fun-
damentally different approach to excavation. Let
us call it the Anglo-Irish disagreement: a presump-
archaeology’ in Britain. In the UK, construction
impact is controlled through planning guidance:
sites are sampled, normally at a rate of 10% of all
linear features, 50% of discrete features and 100%
of structures. In Ireland, all archaeology is 

the development took place. Much of the site was destroyed

without record, and the offices that were finally built on the
site, known locally as ‘the bunkers,’ are a sore reminder of the
potential resource that was lost.
The Wood Quay protestors failed in their attempt to have the
site preserved but, in many respects, the saga foreshadowed the
tactics of the media-savvy protest groups that sprang up around
Controversies of the Celtic Tiger the ‘anti-roads’ movement.  (Box continues over)
When large infrastructure projects are proposed, controversy is never far
from the news. Media coverage of Irish archaeology has been dominated
Below Looking north from the hill of Tara; the M3
by high profile contentious cases such as the Medieval castle at
roadway is visible between the trees at centre.
Carrickmines on the M50 in Co. Dublin; the 9th century Viking Longphort
at Woodstown, excavated on the N25 in Co. Waterford; and the Iron
Age enclosure monument at Lismullin near Tara on the M3. Given the
considerable investment in archaeology and the remarkable new insights
that commercial excavations have brought, it is worth asking: why has
Celtic Tiger archaeology come to be defined by these problematic sites?
The blueprint for these controversies was drawn in the late 1970s, with
the construction of Dublin Corporation’s headquarters at Wood Quay in
the heart of Medieval Dublin. The 4.5acre site on the banks of the River
Liffey contained deeply stratified urban deposits, dating from the 10th
to the 14th centuries. Initial findings led to a huge public campaign, with
PHOTO: Rónán Swan

street protests and legal challenges orchestrated by Friends of Medieval

Dublin. Though their delaying tactics enabled a rescue excavation to
take place, the government enacted special legal measures to ensure

| Issue 247 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 15

 ireland Celtic Tiger archaeology

resourced; not so much ‘preservation by record’

as ‘destruction in denial’. But they may respond
by citing the law of diminishing returns, insisting
that the sampling approach is more cost-effective
and a better way of filtering out the irrelevant,
compared to the indiscriminate information-
gathering of the Irish model. Is it precisely this
indiscriminate approach, however, that safe-
guards archaeology from commercial pressure?
Students of excavation theory will recognise an
echo in this debate that harks back to the foun-
treated as potentially unique, dations of archaeology as a scientific discipline:
requiring 100% excavation General Pitt-Rivers believed everything should be

PHOTO: Headlnad Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd

and preservation by record.
A legal framework under-
writes all decisions that
may potentially impact on
the archaeological heritage,
and any proposed develop-
ment must be preceded by full
excavation of all sites and features.
But, digging larger quantities means larger
costs. If this is undertaken in the public interest,
one has to ask: does digging more equal value
for money? Who does it better, the British or
the Irish? Initially, it appears the British are the
losers, with excavations understaffed and under-
recorded, irrespective of perceived significance,
because ‘fresh problems in archaeology…are con-
stantly arising’; while Flinders Petrie advocated a
discriminatory approach because the excavator
‘does not find anything he does not look for’.
But this does not explain how these different
methods were adopted in Britain and Ireland. For
Above This stone that, we must look back to see how commercial
artefact, broken during archaeology evolved in each country.
manufacture and then
reused probably as a
fishing weight, was found Ground Zero
adjacent to the Bronze
Age trackway at Site 34, Commercial archaeology in the UK is a legacy of
Newrath.
the ‘Rescue Revolution’ – a reaction to post-war

Nowhere were these tactics more apparent than during the
excavations on the M3 as it passed through the Tara-Skryne valley in
Co. Meath. The Hill of Tara is a complex of earthworks dating from the
Neolithic to the early Medieval period, and according to tradition was
the seat of the High King of Ireland. The distance between the new
motorway and the exact site of the hill is 2.2 km (1.37 miles), and the
PHOTO: Michael Fox/Knowth.com
preferred route was selected from a number of different options, all of
which attempted to steer clear of known archaeological sites.
Nevertheless, in such a rich archaeological landscape it was inevitable
that entirely new sites would be unearthed, and when a highly significant
Iron Age enclosure was discovered at Lismullin, the excavation rekindled
debate in the media on the proposed route. The site was seized upon by
pressure groups opposed to development, and the motorway
was widely reported as being built through ‘the hill of Tara.’ The
perception at home and abroad was that Ireland was riding
roughshod over its past, blatantly bulldozing one of its most iconic
monuments. Public opinion was polarised, and commercial field
archaeologists, engaged by the NRA, were caught in the crossfire.
The fiercest critics of Celtic Tiger archaeology object on
principle. Condemning the ‘development at all costs’ agenda, the
Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney criticised modern day Ireland’s
pursuit of the secular above the sacred. In an interview with
the BBC in March 2008, he said, ‘If ever there was a place that
deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations
from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely

recently – it was Tara.’ His call to arms was echoed by Jonathan

left The Hill of Tara ceremonial complex. The new motorway

is further away from the monument than the existing roadway,
shown at the bottom of the photo.

16 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk October 2010 |


reconstruction, laying the foundations for a net-
work of regionally-based field units. Widespread
development preceded adequate legislation,
thereby forcing the archaeological community
to lobby for recognition, and develop working
practices that could deal quickly with the
archaeological ‘problem’.
In Ireland, it was the opposite: state control of
archaeology and the introduction of a license-
based system were enacted long before wide-
spread development became an issue. Measures
to protect Irish archaeology were set in place with
the establishment of the National Monuments
Act in 1930, providing for the guardianship,
PHOTOs: Headlnad Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd
above The main Bronze Age trackway found at Newrath, surrounded by a plank
walkway, and (inset) close up of the trackway. Note the long-handled Irish shovels next
to the trench; another difference with archaeology in Britain, where the shovels normally
have a short handle barely 3ft long – and archaeologists swear that anything different
would break their backs.
preservation and acquisition of monuments,
and placing restrictions on the licensing of
excavations.
In a letter to Current Archaeology (CA 225),
NRA Project Archaeologist Richard O’Brien
commented on an article by Richard Moore 

more about modern Ireland’s concerns in the present than it does about
preserving the past. Irrespective of the clear protocols for the conduct of
excavations on road schemes, headlines typically depict the impact of
development as a simple choice between preservation and destruction,
rather than a negotiated process of impact assessment and consultation.

below The arc of stakeholes at Lismullin being watered and protected

with plastic; stakeholes in the foreground are marked with gridpegs.

above Excavations on the revetted fosse at the site of Carrickmines

Castle, Co Dublin.

Foyle, Chief Executive of the World Monuments Fund Britain, who

PHOTOs: National Roads Authority

declared that the construction of the M3 was equivalent to the state-

backed destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.
Ireland is by no means alone in courting controversy over the handling
of its archaeological heritage, but the resulting media storm – detracting
from the positive story about new archaeological discoveries – says

| Issue 247 www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 17

 ireland Celtic Tiger archaeology
IMAGE Headlnad Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd/Jonathan Millar
above Plan of Site 34 at of Network Archaeology (Village, cemetery and
Newrath, showing all four dyke, CA 222), about work on the Easington to
excavation areas, with
trackways extending from Morecambe Bay pipeline. O’Brien compared the
the dryland margin into archaeology of the cross-Pennine pipeline with
what would have been a that done on the Pipeline to the West in Ireland,
dynamic tidal landscape. noting that the rate of discovery between the
two countries differed significantly. On the UK
pipeline, 65 new sites were discovered over the
course of 245km, compared to 245 sites discov-
ered in Ireland over a longer 335km route. Over
twice as many new sites were found in Ireland
What insight can we gain by comparing
the British and Irish systems of
commercial archaeology?
18 current archaeology | www.archaeology.co.uk
– every 1.3km compared to every 3.7km in the
UK. But recent commentators in Ireland have
pointed out that infrastructure projects are a
special case, and by no means reflect the day-to-
day reality of all commercial archaeology.
Time and tide
This example moves us on to Newrath (Site
34) on the banks of the River Suir, a site that
illustrates perfectly how the Irish method of
‘unknown unknown’ archaeology can find sites
that would otherwise go undiscovered. Newrath
was a multi-period alluvial and estuarine wet-
land site, excavated by Headland Archaeology
(Ireland) Ltd, in advance of the N25 Waterford
bypass.
Exceptionally well-preserved, Site 34 com-
prised 21 individual structures and five areas of
activity, with almost every chapter of human
history represented from the Mesolithic through
to the 19th century. What was most important
about Site 34 was that it was totally unexpected;
although similar landscapes have yielded a
wealth of archaeological information in Britain
and Europe, this was the first time an alluvial
and estuarine wetland had been excavated on a
road scheme in Ireland. As a consequence, our
starting assumption was that this type of land-
scape was archaeologically marginal and would
not benefit from extensive excavation.
In spite of these low expectations, Site 34 was
given the same archaeological treatment as the
rest of the proposed road scheme. Much more
was found than we had bargained for: Meso-
lithic flint scatters on what would have been a
dryland surface at the water’s edge; Early Bronze
Age trackways intended to cross boggy ground
to reach the open water; a Bronze Age burnt
mound on the edge of the wetland area; Iron
Age hurdles to cross tidal creeks for saltmarsh
grazing; Medieval platforms and a 19th century
brick kiln, which would have made use of the
abundant alluvial clay. The quantity and scale
of the remains suggested that Site 34 had been
part of a very active landscape; and, the wet con-
ditions of Site 34 meant that – as well as quan-
tity – Newrath had exceptionally well-preserved
archaeological deposits.
Located on a terrace on the edge of the River
Suir, we excavated through deposits over 3m
deep, which had been accumulating since the
end of the last Ice Age. As the landscape was grad-
ually transformed, layers of earth were deposited
October 2010 |

above Section photograph showing archaeological phases.
or eroded away, leaving a visible and permanent
record in our section drawings. These layers of
different coloured and textured deposits – wood
peats, reed peats and estuarine silts – all provided
snapshots of what the landscape had been like,
while the artefacts and structures contained
within them indicated how people had used the
land. The site has changed how archaeologists
now think about alluvial landscapes – helping
to develop techniques and strategies, as well as
influencing policy and guidelines.
Moving forward
What insight can we gain by comparing the
British and Irish system of commercial archae-
ology? At the beginning of 2010, the British
replaced PPG16, the planning document which
coined the phrase ‘preservation by record’, with
PPS5. The new planning guidance aims to erase
the turf line from consideration, making above-
ground and below-ground archaeology equally
important, and contains the lofty goal that
archaeology can realise a ‘public benefit’.
Similarly in Ireland, the question of whether
current strategies are fit for purpose is currently
under ministerial review, with wide-ranging
reforms eagerly anticipated. These policy
changes suggest that archaeologists from both
countries have been grappling with the short-
comings of their frameworks. Clearly, there is a
tremendous amount to gain by learning from
each other. Irrespective of what side of modern
political borders archaeologists may currently
work, there are many similarities in terms of the
physical remains of the past: and it is to the dirt
that we should turn our attention. C a
| Issue 247
IMAGE Headlnad Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd/Jonathan Millar
Source
Brendon Wilkins
B.wilkins@wessexarch.co.uk
further READING 
Brendon Wilkins, ‘Time and tide: five millennia of
environmental change and human activity on the Suir,
New Routes to the Past, National Roads Authority.
ISBN 978-0954595531.
James Eogan and Eoin Sullivan, ‘Archaeology and the
decline of the Celtic Tiger’, The Archaeologist, Number
72, Summer 2009.
The architect of the revolution
How did the National Roads Authority become such an effective sponsor of
archaeological work? To answer this, look to Dáire O’Rourke (who sadly passed
away in 2010), former chief archaeologist of the NRA.
In early 2000, a Code of Practice was agreed between the NRA
and the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (the
Minister then tasked with the care of Ireland’s archaeological
heritage). This was perhaps the single most important
archaeological document published during the Celtic Tiger.
It saw the NRA directly employ their own archaeologists,
who were responsible for monitoring the work of private
archaeological companies employed on road schemes,
from planning stages through to final publication.
Dáire was appointed NRA Chief Archaeologist in 2001,
at a time of intense pressure for the redevelopment
of existing roads and new motorways. Drawing on her
previous experience as Dublin city archaeologist, she put into
effect a series of protocols to ensure that highways projects
would be accurately assessed for their impact on archaeology,
with excavations taking place well in advance of construction.
PHOTO: National Roads Authority
It is a testament to Dáire’s skills of persuasion that under her
watch, the NRA’s commitment to the historic environment was
solidified, and a formidable team of archaeologists was built who
continue her important legacy.
Coming next month:
From modern highways to ancient waterways: Ireland’s prehistoric beginnings
In prehistoric Ireland, people would have moved most easily along rivers; and not
surprisingly, that is where much of the best archaeological evidence has been found.
From remarkably preserved Mesolithic fishtraps on the River Liffey in the centre of
Dublin, to the first Neolithic House in Co. Kilkenny near the River Suir, and onwards to a
multi-period site spanning both sides of the River Lerr in Co. Kildare, the second feature
of our series will explore the new evidence emerging from these watery landscapes.
www.archaeology.co.uk | current archaeology 19