Dún Ailinne Field School
For more information or an application contact Dr. Susan Johnston (sjohnsto@gwu.edu) or Dr. Pam Crabtree (pc4@nyu.edu)
The site of Dun Ailinne is located on top of Knockaulin hill a short distance from the town of Kilcullen, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Evidence from earlier excavations (1968-1975) has shown that it was the focus of activity as early as the Neolithic, but its main importance was during the Iron Age, ca 600 BCE to 400 CE. During this period, a series of wooden structures was built, used for ceremony and ritual probably associated with religious and political interests. From 2006-2008, archaeologists from George Washington University (USA), New York University (USA), and the University of Galway (Ireland) conducted geophysical survey within the enclosure. The results indicated a number of potential features outside of the concentrated area of the 1960s excavations.
Since 2016, a field school led by Dr. Susan Johnston of George Washington University and Dr. Pam Crabtree of New York University has conducted excavations to explore these finds further. Excavations in 2018 and 2019 defined a new series of features north of the central area. The excavations during the summer of 2021 (pending Covid restrictions) will continue to focus on a feature partially explored in 2018 and 2019. The area includes a series of overlapping enclosures and a number of post- and stake-holes. Artifacts found during excavation have ranged from the Neolithic to the early Medieval period. This season’s excavations will focus on understanding the chronological relationship of these enclosures, one of which dates to the Iron Age, and on understanding how the enclosures relate to the structures indicated by the post and stake holes.
This four-week field season is designed to offer students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of an archaeological excavation. This includes experience with surveying using a total station, excavation of buried features, and processing and preliminary analysis of the recovered data (artifacts, bone remains, radiocarbon samples, etc.). Students will be trained in these skills by professional archaeologists from George Washington University, New York University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Oklahoma, in partnership with the Blackfriary Archaeological Field School. Fees include food and housing provided by local families, transportation, and group field trips to nearby areas.
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