Celtic Tiger keeps the archaeologists digging

The pace of development in the State is affecting archaeology

The pace of development in the State is affecting archaeology. Hardly a day passes without some new facet of our ancient past being uncovered.

Last weekend, for instance, development work in the Raheny area of Dublin uncovered a 17th century house in the Abbey area, and this is currently being investigated.

In the midlands, a week earlier, work was progressing on a housing development at Delvin, Co Westmeath, when the workers uncovered a souterrain. These underground tunnels were constructed to hide people and valuables and were built deep underground to avoid detection and to provide shelter.

The Delvin find is being investigated by Victor Buckley of the Heritage Service of the Office of Public Works, who says archaeologists are currently working flat out on the "tail of the Celtic Tiger".

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He said that mapping, recording and preserving the find had been carried out by Deirdre Murphy of Archaeological Consultancy Services, Drogheda. The structure dated from the 7th or 8th century. There are few such structures in Westmeath, and that makes it important.

Mr Buckley said the structure provided safety for people who hid in it. If the entrance was found, it could easily be defended as raiders would have to creep into the souterrain.

"They were, if you like, early bomb shelters and provided protection from enemies of all sorts. They are important structures," he said.

He said the souterrain was being filled in and preserved, and the details of its construction will eventually be given to the public.

Mr Buckley revealed that archaeologists in Ireland are to bring out a document outlining a code of practice for dealing with human remains.

"This has become quite an issue in recent times and archaeologists are striving to put in place a self-regulatory system to cover such events," he said.

The code will be published in the next few weeks.