Wish we had a TV show equivalent to Digging for Britain on here - would be really great to see the work on these sites get some love (and for people to have a better sense of the wealth of prehistoric sites we've got here, and to give those sites better protection and access). This counts as using my archaeology degrees for the day, though, so a win there.
"10 years ago, a crack archeological unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Dublin underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as archeologists of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The Time-Team."
Music shoved in everywhere, some gubán going on about mythical shite that's totally made up, that eejit from Clare with his leprechaun nonsense. No thanks. I'd rather see "To the waters and the wilds" with Gerrit Van Gelderen again.
Very likely, though the show they did with Ardal O'Hanlon looking at prehistoric sites was excellent - wish there had been more of it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017b0b
Fun fact, though: did my archaeology MA in London and although my focus was later European prehistory (so late bronze/early iron ages), Ireland was essentially never mentioned; all sorts of focus on trade links between what's now (mostly southern) England and the Aegean, the Black Sea and beyond, but zero on trade with what's now Ireland and Scotland, even though people were clearly going back and forth/up and around all the time. I think it's a bit better now, but in retrospect, it was very weird. I don't think it was even on purpose, just reflexive.
Aside from the title of the TV show, "Digging for Britain" was a phrase used to encourage people to grow their own veg during the rationing of WW2 to alleviate the stress on importing resources from overseas. I wonder what phrase or saying could be used for an Irish version of the program with a similar effect?
Sincerely,
A Brit with no clue about common Irish idioms and expressions
You mean where they botch excavated sites in less than a day for the sake of tv? I’ve been to archeological digs as a labourer and believe me, it’s no fun and not that interesting.
Oh, same...but it does get the public interested, and agree it's much better TV than 'doing,' but I know a fair few people who have Time Teamed over the years, I don't think most felt the sites were damaged as such (any more than in a standard rescue dig, at least).
It’s incredible really. Largest known prehistoric settlement on these isles. And a couple of millennia before the vikings got here. This cannot be the only settlement like this surely
Highly doubtful, people tend to copy each other, you don't build large feck off defensive ditches if you don't have a similarly sized adversary that's doing the same.
you don't build large feck off defensive ditches if you don't have a similarly sized adversary that's doing the same.
There's a defensive ditch called the Cliath Dubh around the Kildorrery area of North Cork that runs for 22 kms between two mountains, and is so old that archaeologists have no clue about either the people who built it or the people it was meant to keep out.
To be a professional archaeological pedant here: this was only 4 very small test trenches, significantly more work would have to be done to confirm the type of settlement this was - it may not have been a city in the same way viking Dublin was - it could have been inhabited only seasonally, or perhaps was a central place for a normally dispersed population to meet at special times.
None of this is to take away from how amazing this is, and any if these possibilities (including continuously inhabited city/town) would be incredibly cool
My family used to own a farm outside Baltinglass, and we had a Motte and Bailey on the land. It had some sort of perseveration order on it - I can't recall the details as I was only a kid at the time, but there was allegedly a mostly collapsed escape passageway from the top to outside the ring area.
I'm not surprised more settlements have been found closeby.
Only motte and baileys are 2'000 to 2'500 years later.
Time spans can get mind boggling when you compare it to how quickly people have advanced over the past few centuries. It's like saying there is a new housing estate on that land, so I'm surprised there isn't a Roman forum nearby.
On an aside, the population of this 600 house settlement would've been like a megacity in 1500 bce. World population is estimated at about 50 million in 1000 BCE. Compared to 8 billion today.
My sister lives down at Woodfield, just outside Baltinglass, and there are a tone of prehistoric sites around her place too. Shes a couple of kilometres away from the site mentioned here
The first place I saw this reported was on the Graham Hancock subreddit. lol. Looks like the ancient alien civilisation that taught humanity everything was based in Ireland the whole time.
Wish we had a TV show equivalent to Digging for Britain on here - would be really great to see the work on these sites get some love (and for people to have a better sense of the wealth of prehistoric sites we've got here, and to give those sites better protection and access). This counts as using my archaeology degrees for the day, though, so a win there.
"10 years ago, a crack archeological unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Dublin underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as archeologists of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The Time-Team."
https://youtu.be/Cn6kEsloMdE
https://preview.redd.it/lupoae5lk3cg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f17622127f4b69d1c6c607b583fbfad85ed02d0
I love it when a dig comes together
Tony Robinson can be an awfully grumpy git
"Oi reckon it's a religious site", every time they hadn't a clue.
This and fishing programs were 90% of my childhood because Dad ALWAYS watched it
I can't stop hearing the theme music now. Thanks!!
Wish we had a TV show equivalent to Digging for Britain on here
Agreed, but I fear it would be presented by the likes of Hector, Kathryn Thomas or Brian Dowling.
They could shock us and bring someone new and fresh in! ...Like Lucy Kennedy or Vogue Williams...
Go all in. Make it a Marty Party!
https://preview.redd.it/ed6zyo7685cg1.jpeg?width=970&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbdc66e6da3949391f2ba0c97e9fde0529d07841
Music shoved in everywhere, some gubán going on about mythical shite that's totally made up, that eejit from Clare with his leprechaun nonsense. No thanks. I'd rather see "To the waters and the wilds" with Gerrit Van Gelderen again.
If they made that today it would be basically the BBC's hot take on Ireland's history.
Very likely, though the show they did with Ardal O'Hanlon looking at prehistoric sites was excellent - wish there had been more of it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017b0b
Fun fact, though: did my archaeology MA in London and although my focus was later European prehistory (so late bronze/early iron ages), Ireland was essentially never mentioned; all sorts of focus on trade links between what's now (mostly southern) England and the Aegean, the Black Sea and beyond, but zero on trade with what's now Ireland and Scotland, even though people were clearly going back and forth/up and around all the time. I think it's a bit better now, but in retrospect, it was very weird. I don't think it was even on purpose, just reflexive.
Irish Time Team when?7
At around 5 past ..ish
Aside from the title of the TV show, "Digging for Britain" was a phrase used to encourage people to grow their own veg during the rationing of WW2 to alleviate the stress on importing resources from overseas. I wonder what phrase or saying could be used for an Irish version of the program with a similar effect?
Sincerely,
A Brit with no clue about common Irish idioms and expressions
Well we sort of had one reflecting our pastoral capabilities,,,,, but actually its from 1950...
"One more cow, one more sow, one more acre under the plough" its the slogan that enabled my previous generation have bountiful 2nd half of 20th c....
That's a lovely phrase, it's a bit long for the title of a TV program though. Maybe an after-hours segment on Lyric FM.
You mean where they botch excavated sites in less than a day for the sake of tv? I’ve been to archeological digs as a labourer and believe me, it’s no fun and not that interesting.
Oh, same...but it does get the public interested, and agree it's much better TV than 'doing,' but I know a fair few people who have Time Teamed over the years, I don't think most felt the sites were damaged as such (any more than in a standard rescue dig, at least).
Very interesting and puts into question the current view that large scale settlements like this only began with the arrival of the Vikings.
It’s incredible really. Largest known prehistoric settlement on these isles. And a couple of millennia before the vikings got here. This cannot be the only settlement like this surely
Highly doubtful, people tend to copy each other, you don't build large feck off defensive ditches if you don't have a similarly sized adversary that's doing the same.
There's a defensive ditch called the Cliath Dubh around the Kildorrery area of North Cork that runs for 22 kms between two mountains, and is so old that archaeologists have no clue about either the people who built it or the people it was meant to keep out.
To be a professional archaeological pedant here: this was only 4 very small test trenches, significantly more work would have to be done to confirm the type of settlement this was - it may not have been a city in the same way viking Dublin was - it could have been inhabited only seasonally, or perhaps was a central place for a normally dispersed population to meet at special times.
None of this is to take away from how amazing this is, and any if these possibilities (including continuously inhabited city/town) would be incredibly cool
The Corlea trackway confirmed to me that ancient Ireland must have been more advanced and had bigger settlements than people think.
My family used to own a farm outside Baltinglass, and we had a Motte and Bailey on the land. It had some sort of perseveration order on it - I can't recall the details as I was only a kid at the time, but there was allegedly a mostly collapsed escape passageway from the top to outside the ring area.
I'm not surprised more settlements have been found closeby.
Only motte and baileys are 2'000 to 2'500 years later.
Time spans can get mind boggling when you compare it to how quickly people have advanced over the past few centuries. It's like saying there is a new housing estate on that land, so I'm surprised there isn't a Roman forum nearby.
On an aside, the population of this 600 house settlement would've been like a megacity in 1500 bce. World population is estimated at about 50 million in 1000 BCE. Compared to 8 billion today.
My sister lives down at Woodfield, just outside Baltinglass, and there are a tone of prehistoric sites around her place too. Shes a couple of kilometres away from the site mentioned here
I wonder what was their equivalent of Horan's or Germaine's
Imagine if ancient Ireland turned out to be as fascinating as ancient Egypt, it's just been kept under mud for millennia
They found life in Wicklow
The first place I saw this reported was on the Graham Hancock subreddit. lol. Looks like the ancient alien civilisation that taught humanity everything was based in Ireland the whole time.
I'm not saying it was
Aliensthe Irish, but it wasAliensthe IrishI hear wicklow coco is looking to build it's HQ directly over the site