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ENLIGHT International Training Excavation Module

Rathgurreen Ringfort on the Maree Peninsula, Co. Galway.

ENLIGHT module:

International Training Excavation Module

This ENLIGHT module comprises a short online introduction followed by a two-week international archaeological training excavation in Galway, Ireland. Skills and methods will be shared amongst students from participating ENLIGHT universities. The module also comes under the umbrella of a larger research project based in the University of Galway, and will be directed, co-ordinated, and delivered by Dr. Michelle Comber, Archaeology, University of Galway.

This intensive module is designed to provide students with their first taste of hands-on archaeological excavation. It will explain the varied methods used by archaeologists in different countries to excavate various types of site, whilst providing practical experience of at least one of those methods in the field. The module will also train students in a number of basic, internationally transferable, necessary skills, including grid establishment and use, trowelling techniques, artefact recovery and recording, sampling methodology, context recording, and planning and photography. This will be achieved through on-site talks, physical demonstrations, and hands-on practice.

Students will be assessed on performance in the field (field-skills assessment), and will complete a written daily site diary/learner’s journal. In addition to acquiring the essential skills of our discipline, students will work alongside peers from other parts of Europe, realising the transferable nature and shared significance of this aspect of heritage management. The module will be delivered on site in a rural community in south Co. Galway, mid-way along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, contributing to the sustainable development goals of the research project it will form part of.

Main objectives: