Amplify Archaeology Podcast - Glendalough

Amplify Archaeology

Fig. 3—Excavation at the Upper Lake, showing the stone pathway under excavation as part of the research and student training excavations.

Courtesy of Glendalough Heritage Froum and Wordwell Publishing

Excavation Site

Amplify Archaeology Podcast – Glendalough

Glendalough is one of the most iconic places in Ireland. Saint Kevin is believed to have founded a monastery in this stunningly beautiful valley in County Wicklow some time in the later sixth century. The monastery went on to become a famed centre of learning, and it had a long and illustrious history.

Today, thanks to its glorious setting, this site has become one of the most visited heritage sites in Ireland. Kevin and his monastery has been subject to much scholarly discussion, histories, hagiographies, folklore and legend over the years.

However, there had been little modern archaeological study carried out until Professor Graeme Warren and Conor McDermott of the UCD School of Archaeology began to carry out a series of investigations, surveys and excavations over the last number of years.

Combining their expertise, with the local community and a variety of land owners and stakeholders, they formed the Glendalough Heritage Forum to help promote the cultural heritage of Glendalough and to increase collaboration between different groups, not least the local community.

The Glendalough Heritage Forum community excavations are funded by Wicklow County Council, the Heritage Council and UCD School of Archaeology, with substantial support in kind from National Parks and Wildlife Services and Office of Public Works.

We had the opportunity to join the archaeologists on site, where we had a chat with Graeme, Conor and the team who generously took the time to give us some wonderful insights into the project and the challenges and joys of archaeology.

Listen to the podcast here.

This podcast appears courtesy of Amplify Archaeology and Abarta Heritage.

Amplify Archaeology is a podcast that features a series of interviews with a number of Ireland’s archaeologists and specialists, to discuss the key periods, themes and stories and the different types of sites and artefacts that can tell us how people lived in the past.