Early Start Semester in Irish Archaeology

Program Overview

The Early Start in Irish Archaeology is a three-week program that provides students with a comprehensive overview of Ireland's culture and history. Through lectures and field trips to significant archaeological sites, students explore Irish art, architecture, and the impact of climate change on ancient societies. The course is led by Dr. Tomás Ó Carragáin and offers a unique perspective on Ireland's landscapes, people, and material culture.

Program Outline

Outline:

The Early Start in Irish Archaeology is a three-week pre-session course running from mid-August to early September. It is a full-time program that provides students with a unique perspective on Ireland's culture, history, and landscapes.

Content:

The course covers a broad sweep of Irish history, from the colonization of the island after the last Ice Age to the birth of the modern era in the seventeenth century. Key themes and subjects include:

• The rich archaeological evidence for interactions between locals and incomers during the Viking Age
• The impact of climate change on societies in ancient Ireland
• The globally important art produced in Ireland, both during the Stone Age and in the early medieval period (e.g., the Tara brooch and the Book of Kells)

Structure:

The course is structured around a combination of lectures and field trips. Lectures are held in the mornings on days when no field trip is scheduled.

Field Trips:

Field trips are a significant component of the course, with about half of the contact time dedicated to them. The sites visited range from local ruins to internationally famous archaeological complexes. Students explore locations in Cork, neighboring counties, Dublin, Galway, the Burren, and the Aran Islands.

Assessment:

Assessment is in the form of two projects based in part on first-hand observations by students about the many sites visited.

Teaching:

The teaching methods include lectures, seminars, and field trips. The course is led by Dr. Tomás Ó Carragáin, Director of the Early Start in Archaeology.

Careers:

The course provides students with a new understanding of how people in the past, and indeed the present, use material culture (monuments and artefacts) to express social status, ideology, identity, and gender. It considers aspects of Irish art and architecture and explores the role of buildings, monuments, and artefacts in the formation of Irish identities.

Early Start Fee 2024: €1,400 Minor additional costs may be incurred for snacks or meals on field trip(s).