Robert M Chapple, Archaeologist

[** If you like this post, please make a donation to the IR&DD project using the button at the end. If you think it is interesting or useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. **] As a consequence of the Drumclay crannog fiasco, Minister Alex Attwood has proposed a wide-ranging review of archaeological practice in Northern Ireland. The scope of this review has yet to be made public, but I would hope that it will be broad enough to consider such matters as the planning process, along with the operation of both the private and state sectors – not just in this case, but in how the practice of archaeology is conducted generally. I have a sneaking suspicion that a path may not be beaten to my door to solicit my opinion – it certainly hasn’t been sought so far. As we all know, this has never stopped me! For this reason this blog post may be regarded as my – deliberately provocative, but no less serious – position paper on what should happen in commercial archaeo...

[** If you like this post, please make a donation to the IR&DD project using the button at the end. If you think it is interesting or useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. **] Replica Viking Armrings from Montague Heritage Service Well, folks, it’s that time of year again, when the axial tilt of the earth means that we’re heading for the annual solstice celebrations … Yule … Beiwe Festival … Christmas … Chawmos … Shab-e Chelleh whatever you’re having yourself! However we chose to celebrate it, there’s generally a lot of eating, drinking, being thankful for having survived the worst of the winter, and gift giving. It was with an eye to offering suggestions as to what moneyed loved ones might wish to purchase for the archaeologists in their lives that I thought about asking on my various Facebook pages ( Irish Radiocarbon & Dendrochronological Dates | The William Dunlop Archaeological Photographic Archive ). Unsurprisingly, but largely unhelp...