Volunteers digging for history

IN rain, wind and sunshine volunteers have once again come to Swords Castle to dig history.

Since August 19 up to 30 volunteers a day, locals and some from a lot further afield, including as far away as Canada, Germany and Italy, have been working with community archaeologist Christine Baker, as part of the second year of community excavation at the castle.

Volunteers have been patiently and methodically removing soil from three trenches and then carefully examining the soil for artefacts. 

There’s been a lot of sieving, washing, and sorting of the many finds already made. This includes many pieces of medieval pottery and lots of animal bone, all revealing more about the lives of people in Swords over the centuries. 

As work continues, these trenches will reveal what was happening within the castle walls, and will tell about buildings and other structures within the walls which have long since disappeared above ground. They will also reveal more about the people who lived there and how they lived.

‘Swords Castle: Digging History’ is Fingal County Council’s first community archaeology project. It’s providing people from communities across the county with a unique opportunity to take part in a real archaeological excavation working with a small team of professional archaeologists. 

For more information, visit www.fingal.ie/planning-and-buildings/heritage-infingal/swordscastledigginghistory.