Accommodation and food are not included but suitable facilities will be recommended at the online sessions. This allows students to suit their own budget and needs, and to share accommodation if they wish to do so. Those without their own transport will need to stay within walking distance of the excavation and ATU Sligo.

Fitness and safety

Note that both the study tour and the excavation require a reasonable level of physical fitness. Students will need to be able to walk over rough ground for 500m or more without difficulty, excavation is a physical activity that requires a similar level of fitness to gardening. You should be aware that you may be outside in all weathers for extended periods.

Online classes (End-Feb to early May 2025)

Students will undertake online classes for two hours per week from the end of February until early May. These will introduce students to the history and archaeology of the Green Fort, archaeological techniques and recording. For those unable to attend the live classes, these will be recorded and students can watch these at a time to suit their own schedule.

The Study Tour (19 – 30 May 2025)

This module involves touring the spectacular landscapes of the northwest of Ireland for ten days to examine a full range of Irish archaeological field monuments and a number of visitor centres. Students will learn first-hand about Irish archaeological field monuments and their contexts in the wider landscape and build their knowledge of Irish culture through this study tour.

The Excavation and post-excavation (2 – 20 June 2025)

A topographical survey of the ‘Green Fort’ was carried out by Sam Moore and students of IT Sligo now ATU Sligo) over a number of years. In 2021 Eoin Halpin of AHC Ltd used this baseline to record the present state of the monument as part of scrub clearance works undertaken by Sligo Co. Co. Following on from this, also in 2021, Sligo Co. Co. commissioned licensed geophysical (magnetometer and resistivity) surveys of the monument, which were conducted by Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit (ACSU). The topographic and geophysical surveys have informed the excavation methodology, providing a focus for planning trench locations.

The first two weeks of the course will concentrate on excavation, while the third week will concentrate on post-excavation analysis. In the event of sustained bad weather in the first fortnight, indoor work will be undertaken, with the aim of making up lost excavation time in the third week.

Excavation

In 2025 the excavation will focus on a single 30m long trench in the interior of the fort. This will provide an insight into the structures and features that have been identified by geophysics and survey, in particular a circular anomaly in the centre of the fort.
The overall aim of the project is to investigate the nature and origin of the archaeological remains at the Green Fort and to place them in their wider cultural and landscape context. Students will contribute to this overall excavation aim through their input to the survey, excavation and recording work on site. The Green Fort is visited regularly by tourists and locals, and students will also have the opportunity to develop skills in explaining heritage to members of the public.

Post-excavation Analysis

Post-excavation analysis will take place in the Archaeology Lab at ATU Sligo. Students will undertake essential tasks such as washing artefacts and ecofacts; processing soils for specialist analysis; preparing stratigraphic matrices and reports; illustrating and photographing artefacts. They will gain an awareness of the component parts of the post excavation process and the roles played by various specialists. They will contribute material for creation of the final excavation report and ultimately work towards bringing an excavation to full publication, and the preparation of the archive for final deposition in the National Museum of Ireland.