The Discovery Programme

The Discovery Programme's latest Ezine is now available to read here: discoveryprogramme.ie/2025/10/06/d...

@heritagecouncil.ie @nationalmons.bsky.social

Spot the archaeologists! This week we've been onsite in Co. Donegal doing UAV survey at sites around St John's Point, funded by an @aerialarchaeology.bsky.social grant.

Here is a cleared shore, traditionally known as the landing place for the medieval Killaghtee church
@edwardpollard.bsky.social

6/6 The Lough Kinale Shrine reconstructed!

Ireland’s oldest & largest Book Shrine was broken in the medieval period & the pieces left in a lake

Now, Discovery Programme has used 3D modelling to digitally reconstruct it with @nmireland.bsky.social for #wordsonthewave exhibition:
@heritagecouncil.ie

@researchireland.ie

📢 Announcing a new @researchireland.ie-funded project exploring Tara places in Ireland

'Tara by Name, Tara by Nature?' will explore archaeological connections between Ireland’s 'temair' places

It will be led by The Discovery Programme's Dr Susan Curran
@nationalmons.bsky.social @heritagecouncil.ie

Our Research Archaeologist Dr Susan Curran is currently in Trondheim, Norway at the @aerialarchaeology.bsky.social (AARG) conference. Dr Curran is the Honorary Secretary for AARG and presenting a poster from the Discovery Programme on Remote Sensing data

Binding Strips, Lough Kinale Shrine - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) The Lough Kinale Shrine is the earliest and largest Irish book shrine, dating to the 9th century. It was found in a lake in 1986, close to a Crannóg (island settlement) in Co. Longford. The shrine…

5/6 Lough Kinale Shrine is Ireland’s oldest Book Shrine - an elaborate box made to hold a holy book

It was broken in medieval times & the pieces left in a lake...

We've now digitally reconstructed it with @nmireland.bsky.social

Follow til post #6 18/09 for full shrine skfb.ly/pAIXp skfb.ly/pAIXs

Top Panel, Lough Kinale Shrine - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) The front of the Lough Kinale Shrine comprises 4 tinned bronze sheets overlying the oak lid. A large cross with cusped cross arms decorated with birds heads & expanded terminals dominate the front.…

4/6 Lough Kinale Shrine is Ireland’s oldest Book Shrine - an elaborate box made to hold a holy book

It was broken apart in the medieval period & the pieces left in a lake...

Now we've digitally reconstructed it with @nmireland.bsky.social

Follow until post #6 18/09 to see the full shrine

End Panel 2, Lough Kinale Shrine - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) The Lough Kinale Shrine is the earliest and largest Irish book shrine, dating to the 9th century. It was found in a lake in Co. Longford in 1986, close to a Crannóg (island settlement). The sides are…

3/6 Lough Kinale Shrine is Ireland’s oldest Book Shrine - an elaborate box made to hold a holy book

It was broken in the medieval period & the pieces left in a lake...

Now we've digitally reconstructed it with @nmireland.bsky.social

Follow until post #6 18/09 to see the full shrine

Swivel Strap Attachment 1, Lough Kinale Shrine - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) The Lough Kinale Shrine is the earliest and largest Irish book shrine, dating to the 9th century. It was found in a lake in Co. Westmeath in 1986, close to a Crannóg (island settlement). The Shrine…

2/6 Lough Kinale Shrine is Ireland’s oldest Book Shrine - an elaborate box made to hold a holy book

It was broken apart in the medieval period & the pieces left in a lake...

Now we've digitally reconstructed it with @nmireland.bsky.social

Follow til 18/09 for the full shrine 👀

We are thrilled to see CHERISH achieve another significant milestone - with their collections in DRI now totalling more than 20,000 unique objects!

Find out more: dri.ie/news/new-col...

@rcahmwales.bsky.social @aberuni.bsky.social @geolsurvie.bsky.social

📣Discovery Programme is delighted to announce the CHERISH Project Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data is now archived securely in the @dri.ie & available for anyone to use! doi.org/10.7486/DRI....

@heritagecouncil.ie @aberuni.bsky.social @rcahmwales.bsky.social @interregeurope.bsky.social

Side Panel 1A, Lough Kinale Shrine - 3D model by The Discovery Programme (@discoveryprogramme) The Lough Kinale Shrine is the earliest and largest Irish book shrine, dating to the 9th century. It was found in a lake in Co. Westmeath in 1986, close to a Crannóg (island settlement). The sides ar...

Lough Kinale Shrine is Ireland’s oldest Book Shrine - an elaborate box made to hold a holy book

It was destroyed in the medieval period & the broken parts left in a lake...

We've now digitally reconstructed it with @nmireland.bsky.social

Follow til post #6 18/09 for the full shrine skfb.ly/pAHnB

Thank you everyone who joined our #HeritageWeek Coastal Archaeology walk this weekend despite the wet weather! We had a great time exchanging knowledge about this stretch of coast

This was grant-aided by @ria.ie, funded by @nationalmons.bsky.social. @heritagecouncil.ie @edwardpollard.bsky.social

Hut site and cairns in the eroding sand dunes on the Doorin Point survey. @cormacduffy.bsky.social @ria.ie @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social This project is grant aided by #RIAgrants funded by @nationalmons.bsky.social

Eroding shell middens recorded surveying around Doorin Point, Donegal. @cormacduffy.bsky.social @ria.ie @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social This project is grant aided by #RIAgrants funded by @nationalmons.bsky.social

We had a fantastic time at Aonach na nDéise - Woodstown Viking Fest yesterday, chatting to visitors about our geophysical surveys at Woodstown & having fun with our 3D models in VR 🤓

Topped off with a visit from MoS Christopher O'Sullivan TD, MoS Mary Butler TD & Mayor of Waterford Cllr Séamus Ryan

Erosion cut through a stream making a new waterfall with the original now dry valley on the townland boundary seen further south. Doorin Point in Donegal @cormacduffy.bsky.social This project is grant aided by #RIAgrants funded by @nationalmons.bsky.social @ria.ie @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social

Traces of a cart track running along the intertidal zone was recorded on the Doorin Point survey, Donegal @cormacduffy.bsky.social This project is grant aided by #Riagrants @ria.ie funded by @nationalmons.bsky.social @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social

Checking out the erratics used as land marks, place names, fossils and rock formations on the foreshore around Doorin Point promontory fort in Donegal @cormacduffy.bsky.social #Riagrants @ria.ie @nationalmons.bsky.social @discoveryprogramme.bsky.social

The Discovery Programme is just 30 people away from 10,000 followers on @sketchfab.bsky.social!
To celebrate, we’re offering our 10,000th follower a 3D print of the Newgrange Entrance Stone!
For your chance to WIN, head over to Sketchfab and follow us there! sketchfab.com/discoverypro...
Good luck🍀

The Discovery Programme would like to welcome our new Archaeological Surveyor & Digital Documentation Officer Cian Hogan. Cian joins us with extensive experience from commercial archaeology, primarily working in geophysics. He will be doing geophysical surveys with our Survey Team. Welcome Cian!

3 weeks today until our exhibition opens at Oranmore Public Library for #HeritageWeek2025! Part of the CHERISH exhibition on #coastal #archaeology will be on display Fri 15 Aug - Fri 22 Aug

Oranmore Library is open from 10.30-5pm Tues-Sat (closed 1-2pm) @heritagecouncil.ie @nationalmons.bsky.social

Calling all curious minds! Today is #AskAnArchaeologistDay, your chance to ask anything you’ve ever wanted to know about archaeology!

📱 Join the conversation on X, BlueSky, TikTok, and Instagram, just use the hashtag #AskAnArchaeologist or ask your question in the comments to get involved.

@edwardpollard.bsky.social

YouTube video by The Discovery Programme Tour of Illaunobrick Iron Age Promontory Fort

For those who caught the @rteone.rte.ie coverage of our work on eroding archaeology on the Copper Coast & would like to know more, check out this tour of Illaunobrick Promontory Fort from our Maritime Archaeologist Dr @edwardpollard.bsky.social:
youtu.be/34KhLwKwTHc?...

@heritagecouncil.ie

St Matthew applying a scribal knife or scraper to a page and dipping his pen in an inkwell (Cod. Sang. 1395, p. 418). © Stiftsbibliothek, St. Gallen Atop this a purple banner bears the Amplify Archaeology logo of a trowel, and the text Words on the Wave with Maeve Sikora and Matthew Seaver, Amplify Archaeology Podcast

New episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast!

In this episode I visit the @nmireland.bsky.social, where Maeve Sikora & Matthew Seaver discuss the wonderful Words on the Wave exhibition and the incredible Irish manuscripts from the Abbey of St Gall

#Ireland #Archaeology 🏺 #AncientBlueSky #SpéirGhorm

Fri 15 Aug–Fri 22 Aug
CHERISH exhibition on display
Oranmore Library, Co. Galway

Sun 17 Aug
Viking Heritage Festival
Carriganore, Co. Waterford

Fri 22 Aug 1pm
Talk “Losing our Foundations: Coastal Heritage at Risk”
Oranmore Library

Sat 23 Aug
Coastal Archaeology Walk
St John’s Point, Co. Donegal

It’s just 3 weeks until #HeritageWeek2025 – the biggest week of the year for learning about Ireland’s archaeology! The theme is #Foundations and once again the Discovery Programme will be doing 4 events for you to come and hear about our findings...

@heritagecouncil.ie @nationalmons.bsky.social

Whilst in Co. Galway last week, @edwardpollard.bsky.social & @hannahboyd.bsky.social undertook Coastal Zone Assessment on the Maree Peninsula. We walked the coastline, identifying & recording features relating to the maritime heritage of an area
@heritagecouncil.ie @nationalmons.bsky.social