About: Charles Mount
Website: http://charles-mount.ie/wp/
I am an Archaeologist with 25 years’ experience of archaeology, cultural heritage EIA and project management. I hold a Masters and Ph.D. from NUI Dublin. Part of my responsibilities involves advising Bord na Móna, the commercial Semi-state body with responsibility for development of 80,000 ha of Peatland in Ireland, in relation to archaeology. The rest of the time I act as Project Archaeologist with the Irish Concrete Federation where I am responsible for implementing the archaeological code of practice agreed with government in 2002. My primary research interest is the Irish Bronze Age.
Posts by Charles Mount:
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Ireland in the Bronze Age,
29 Jun 2012 in Commercial Archaeology&DayOfArch2012&Egypt&Environmental Archaeology&Excavation&Osteology&Prehistory
The Early Bronze Age pottery from the cemetery in the Mound of the Hostages at Tara, Co. Meath. From O’Sullivan 2005.
About me
I am a professional archaeologist who lives and works in Ireland. Part of my professional work involves overseeing the archaeological programme of Bord na Móna, where I act as Project Archaeologist. Bord na Móna is the commercial Semi-state body with responsibility for the development of the Irish national peat resource. Bord na Móna owns and manages more than 80,000 ha of land spread across Ireland. Most of this is peatland which has preserved a wealth of organic archaeological and palaeoenvironmental material. I also act as Project Archaeologist for the Irish Concrete Federation where I am responsible for implementing the Archaeological Code of Practice which was agreed with government in 2002. But on this particular day I am spending my time working on my own archaeological research. -
A day of archaeology in the peatlands of Ireland II,
29 Jul 2011 in Day of Archaeology&DayofArch2011&Environmental Archaeology&Excavation&Medieval&Prehistory
The view across Killaderry Bog. Co. Galway.
You can find part I of this post here.
Getting to the site
It’s a two hour drive from my base in Kildare to Killaderry, part of the trip is on the new Motorways built during the Celtic Tiger period but once you cross the Shannon these roads run out and you are back on the old single carriageways and narrow bridges that characterise the country.
The excavations
I Arrived at Killaderry, Co. Galway just after 11am and Jane Whitaker of ADS showed me around. These are raised bogs, which means they developed from ancient lakes. The natural vegetation has been removed by milling so they give the impression of solidified dark brown lakes. The only visible features are the long and deep drains extending into the distance that break up the bog into long narrow fields. The figures of archaeologists in reflective yellow safety gear can be seen beside shallow excavation cuttings filling out recording sheets. The trackways are spread around the bog and it takes a long time to walk out to them and then from site to site. This year 13 sites were excavated in Killaderry Bog and 3 in Castlegar. Dan Young from Reading University is busily taking samples from around the trackways for environmental analysis. When it rains this can be a bleak place as there’s no cover. In a hot summer there’s no shade from the sun. The peat dries out and can become airborne and tractors and harvesters create mini-dust-storms as they pass.
A section of a trackway prepared for environmental sampling at Killaderry Bog. Co. Galway.
The trackways have a wide date range from the Bronze Age right through to the fifteenth century AD. The longer trackways tend to cross the bogs at their narrowest points linking areas of dryland. In a number of cases trackways follow the routes that were established at earlier periods. There are other alignments of trackway that are being investigated this season that will soon be dated and will provide more detail. At this stage the evidence indicates that this routeway through Killaderry bog was in use for at least two thousand years and is probably the preserved wetland part of an ancient road network that existed in this area. Investigation of the nearby River Suck also has the potential to identify ancient fording points and possibly the remains of bridges. There have been interesting finds, a Late Bronze Age wooden shovel, a rough-out for a handled bowl and a spoon that resembles a chisel. Now that the season’s fieldwork has come to an end the next part of work, the post-ex phase, begins.
Final recording of cuttings and samples at Killaderry Bog. Co. Galway.
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A day of archaeology in the peatlands of Ireland,
29 Jul 2011 in DayofArch2011&Medieval&Prehistory
View Killaderry& Castlegar in a larger mapAbout me
As an archaeologist my work ranges widely from advising developers how to avoid impacts on archaeology and built heritage, to the preparation of the cultural heritage sections of environmental impact assessments, to the commissioning of field-based investigations such as geophysical survey and the traditional archaeological excavation. Part of my professional work involves overseeing the archaeological programme of Bord na Móna, where I act as Project Archaeologist. Bord na Móna is the commercial Semi-state body with responsibility for the development of the Irish national peat resource. Bord na Móna owns and manages more than 80,000 ha of land spread across Ireland. Most of this is peatland which has preserved a wealth of organic archaeological and palaeoenvironmental material. Once thought to be areas of wilderness we now know that the bogs were used by people for thousands of years.
