Exciting archaeological discoveries along the Northern Motorway road extension between Julianstown in Co Meath and Monasterboice in Co Louth, and local concerns over the perceived speed with which some of the excavation work was carried out, has resulted in the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, in association with the Louth Archaeological and Historical Society, organising a seminar which takes place today.
The seminar is intended as an information session on the discoveries rather than a forum for grievances. Representatives of the National Roads Authority (NRA), D·chas, the Heritage Service and the three archaeological companies engaged in the investigation will participate. It is a practical local initiative, funded by membership subscriptions, yet again emphasising the invariably unacknowledged "watchdog" role voluntary local societies continue to take in heritage matters.
Among the issues to be explored today is the absolute need for investigative archaeological work such as this to be carried out at the earliest possible pre-planning stage of any road development and not to be done in tandem with construction work, as has been often been the case on the Northern Motorway. Another issue is the feasibility of preserving some sites in situ, particularly when road construction is involved. The seminar is expected to highlight the wealth of hidden archaeological treasures lying beneath the surface soil of Meath and Louth, counties long known to be extremely rich in such heritage.
There is always the problem of insufficient research time afforded to archaeological work carried out under pressure of road construction deadlines. Archaeologists agree that 99 per cent of excavations now undertaken in the Republic are development-led rescue work. Today's seminar also hopes to discuss the role and powers of State authorities such as D·chas, known to be heavily under-resourced. Even more under-resourced is the National Museum, not invited to participate in today's event, although the the museum, with D·chas, was one of the two statutory bodies involved in negotiating a Code of Practice for use by the NRA. This code was designed to ensure that the NRA deferred to whatever archaeological material might be encountered in the course of road construction. The idea of the code is to facilitate all involved in the process.
The Meath and Louth archaeological societies, in common with similar societies throughout Ireland, are also questioning whether the powers, structure and resources given to D·chas are adequate in the face of the massive proposed development associated with the National Development Plan 2000-2006. Paramount to this plan is the major programme of road construction.
"Is this the time to look again at the provisions and structures for the protection of our heritage?" asks Julitta Clancy, president of the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society. "At the moment, D·chas is subsumed in a large department with a very wide brief. Is there a case for a separate heritage body with stronger powers and greater resources? At a time of great economic prosperity and development, are we giving sufficient attention and resources to the protection and passing on of our rich archaeological heritage?" Official channels would say "yes". Local archaeological societies and heritage groups disagree. It must also be noted that the NRA is now operating under shortened timescales for bringing projects to completion - possibly due to the imminent exhaustion of European funds.
In response to the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society's fears that "some excavations are being overly rushed... valuable data and opportunities for research may well be lost or compromised", a senior D·chas archaeologist commented that "there are inevitably time constraints involved in all archaeological excavations being carried out in connection with a development project. It is the responsibility of the excavating archaeologists to ensure that the approach and methodology adopted in excavating a site takes account of the time available to carry out the excavations and that every effort is made to ensure that the work is completed in time. If the methodologies used are appropriate to the rescue nature of the work, then there should be no question of data being lost or of excavations being overly rushed". The society also expressed its concern over policy decisions relating to preserving sites in situ under the new road.
Such a policy may not be feasible in relation to large road developments. The weight of the material alone being used for road construction would overwhelm and compress any site, making further investigation - even, for example, along an embankment - unlikely.
Reopening completed roads for further archaeological investigation is not realistic. Eighty per cent of the new roads development in the Republic is being funded by the EU, so the seminar hopes to establish if such methods as outlined above are in keeping with EU cultural policies such as the European Convention on the Archaeological Heritage ratified by Ireland in 1997.
The archaeological riches of Meath and Louth have long been recognised but, even by the standards of Co Meath, the discoveries revealed as part of these pre-road construction procedures are remarkable. It is a huge excavation, the largest in Europe, with about 200 archaeologists (representing three separate consultancies and employed by the NRA) involved.
One of Ireland's leading archaeologists, George Eogan, has referred to the finds revealed during the road extension and enlargement of the stretch near Drogheda as having opened up "an archaeological carpet". It is, he says, "a microcosm of the archaeology of Ireland that chronologically extends from at least the Neolithic to Early Christian times". During the past year, the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, which has 350 members, has been regularly contacted by local people alarmed at the heritage implications of all the major roads planned for Co Meath along the N1, N2 and N3.
The discoveries have been extensive, revealing a wealth and range of sites, although the indications were there because of the higher than expected density of sites encountered during the development of the Newmarket-on-Fergus/Dromoland bypass in Co Clare. Most exciting of all in the Boyne Valley is the continuity of settlement and intensity of activity represented by the excavations extending from prehistoric times to the early medieval period. Of particular interest is the amount of Neolithic and Bronze Age material, including pottery, flint finds and other objects. Archaeologists have discovered extensive evidence of various types of house construction as well as the layout of ritual sites.
One archaeologist recalls seeing evidence of three Neolithic houses in one site and a further two in another - all in one day. Some weeks later, having been investigated, all five were gone - lost forever. Also remarkable was the discovery of an early Christian burial site and a number of Bronze Age ritual enclosures - also investigated, recorded and now gone. As is common to the fate of all earthworks and wooden houses, there are no structural remains, only evidence such as post-holes or foundation trenches. For all the excitement, there is also the frustration of insufficient research time and difficulty in publishing meaningful inter-related reports. When several teams of excavators are involved in competitive tendering in one complex, group discussion is rare.
Most crucially of all, no general overview of the ancient landscape is emerging. The society has had discussions with D·chas and stresses its desire to be informed by the excavation archaeologists of the extent and nature of the discoveries. Speaking on behalf of the council of the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society, Clancy says: "We hope the seminar will be the first step in filling this gap in our knowledge and the beginning of a constructive, informed relationship on a national level between communities, local societies, archaeologists, road developers and the heritage authorities."
There are ironies. Archaeological excavation by its nature causes destruction. In the case of these recent discoveries in counties Meath and Louth, members of the local archaeological societies who have contacted D·chas and are questioning current practices, concede that without road projects such as these, most of this material might never have been discovered.
It is less the building of the roads than the methods that are contentious. Meath and Louth have been relatively fortunate in terms of the impact of development until now, although an estimated 5.5 per cent of archaeological sites in south Co Meath alone are being lost annually due to intensive farming, road building, housing and other commercial developments. Central to the excavations and the rate of discovery is the fact that the Archaeological Inventory of Co Meath, published in 1987 by the Office of Public Works, is now seriously outdated and in need of revision.
Since the excavation on the Northern Motorway commenced last year, the Code of Practice negotiated on behalf of the Minister, S∅le de Valera, by D·chas and the National Museum with the NRA has been introduced. In her forward to the code, the Minister describes it as "a significant milestone in the protecting of the archaeological heritage...It will help safeguard our archaeological heritage as the Government embarks on a major programme of road developments as part of its National Development Plan 2000- 2006...Development need not be a threat to the protection of the archaeological heritage - mitigation, if managed correctly, has the potential to add much valuable new information about our past. The NRA is committing itself to a responsible approach to the protection of the archaeological heritage and, in doing so, it is charting the way forward for other developers". The NRA has sought to appoint 14 road project archaeologists.
So far so good - in theory. The National Museum has yet to receive its promised allocation of additional staff, two archaeologists to add to its existing five. The NRA project archaeologists, yet to briefed because of the delay in issuing the guidelines, may be capable of walking the tightrope between the pressures of the National Development Plan and the preservation of archaeology - and could ensure that archaeological research is given a greater priority in future road schemes.
Few archaeologists would disagree that, due to an absence of sufficient archaeological project management, the Northern Motorway excavations were not carried out under ideal conditions. This episode could prove a useful test case for the future road developments. As for the code, it is not yet fully implemented. The Minister is yet to publish guidelines to enable the project archaeologists to undertake their work in a focused way.
Today's seminar is intended as a valuable step in the accessing of information. Ned Kelly, Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum, welcomes the seminar, "but I feel it is seriously flawed by its failure to invite the National Museum, as one of the partners involved in the negotiating of the code, to contribute a paper".
The Meath and Louth archaeological societies will be producing a self-financed joint paper on the proceedings.
The seminar takes place at the Boyne Valley Hotel, Drogheda, Co Louth, starting this morning at 9.45 a.m. and continuing until 4.45p.m. A full report of the seminar will be published in the news pages of The Irish Times on Monday.