The first archaeological excavation of a stone fort in the Burren in Co Clare began at the weekend as part of the events of Heritage Week.
The attempt to accurately date when Caherconnell stone fort was built and discover its uses over the centuries will continue until next week. Visitors will be able to see the archaeologists, a partnership of NUI Galway and a Clare-based private company, TVAS Ireland, at work from 8am to 5pm every day.
The stone fort is on land owned by the Davoren family, who developed a visitor centre on their farm in 2003 and provide a "virtual tour" of the ancient site.
Martin Davoren, who works at the centre, said that the family was delighted about the dig. "It is about finding out what is there and getting dates on the fort." The fort is believed to date from the fifth century and may have been in use up to the 16th century. If significant artefacts are uncovered it is intended to seek permission from the National Museum of Ireland to display them at the Clare Museum in Ennis.
The excavation is being led by Dr Michelle Comber, of NUI Galway, and is an extension of a study she has been carrying out in the Burren since 2005. It is funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland.
The first year of the study looked at 300 sites in the Burren, including cashels or stone forts, raths, enclosures and ecclesiastical remains, focusing on settlement patterns around the ring forts of the Burren in the first millennium. The study revealed that many settlements grew up around the most fertile areas of the Burren or were strategically sited within its "communication networks". Caherconnell stone fort falls into the latter category because of its location at one end of the major north-south pass through the Burren mountains.
In developing the visitor attraction owner John Davoren commissioned research on the archaeology and history of the fort from Paul Gosling, of the Department of Humanities at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.