UCD Prehistoric Technologies Experimental Group

As part of the academic year, the Archaeological Society hopes to run and be involved in a series of experimental projects that run throughout the school. For those interested in the experimental side of Archaeology, the UCD Prehistoric Technologies Experimental Group(previously the UCD Experimental Prehistoric Stone-working Group) are looking to take in new members to carry out regular sessions developing experiential/experimental techniques with the aim of developing a greater understanding of prehistoric material culture, technologies and social interactions. Due to the nature of the work carried out by the group and UCD’s insurance policies, there are a few requirements.

-Members must be current students who have completed first year and are at least in stage two of their degree. Alumni are also accepted.

-Members must be willing to participate in physical tasks/manual labour

The group will meet every Tuesday from 18.00 and there is an initial signup fee of €10 which will cover the cost of the required raw materials.

The first planned session will be on Tuesday (1/10/13) for past members and post grads and the following Tuesday (8/10/13) open to all including undergrads. As things stand there will not be a limit on the number attending however for practical reasons, limitations may be placed in the future depending on interest. For more information contact the group via email (Niall.Inwood@ucdconnect.ie)

Coffee morning talk by Dr. Franc Myles !

Dear everyone,

Our next coffee morning will take place this Wednesday, 2nd of October, between 12 and 2pm in the Red Room in the New Student Centre  (see map below).

We will host a talk by Dr. Franc Myles from the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland !

All welcome so spread the word around you.

First night out of the year

Dear everyone,
Thanks to the work of Emily Geoghegan and Sean Kinsella, a fantastic night out awaits you on Thursday at The Palace on Camden Street. It will only cost you 5€ and you will get VIP entry and *a crate of champagne* (yes, you read well, that is at least 6 bottles!) ! All this because you are part of the best Society ever in UCD of course! (Non members would have to pay entry and would get no champagne, so thank you Sean and Emily for organising this!).

In order to join the fun, come to our coffee morning this Wednesday (12-2pm, Room 1-3 in Old Student Centre)  and bring the 5€ for Emily to collect. She will thus be able to get your wristbands in advance and avoid waiting on Thursday night.
Then on the day, meet Emily at Against the Grain at 7.30pm (see link below for the map, it's just south of St Stephen's Green). If you were unable to attend the coffee morning, you can still pay your 5€ to Emily on the night of the event.

If you have any question, please contact Emily at Emily.geoghegan@ucdconnect.ie. (You should contact Emily by email if you want her phone number in case you can't find her on Thursday night ).

This is a tremendous night out so be sure to join the fun !
Check out the venu website here: http://www.thecamdenpalace.com/

View Larger Map  

Coffee mornings announced

Dear everyone,

Not one, but TWO coffee mornings are planned for next week ! Please check our Event page  for more details.

If you have any question, feel free to email us.

Freshers Week and Events for the year

Archaeological Society stall

Freshers Week took place at UCD this week and the Archaeological Society was there, ready to rock ! A big thanks to every one who has helped out manning the stall all week, it's been a success!

So here is a recap of what awaits you this year as a member of this fantastic society:

- DISCOUNTS! 15% off your camping gear with Capel Camping; as well as 10% off Wordwell books (for more information, contact your auditor)

- COFFEE MORNINGS ! Every Wednesday, between 12 and 2pm, come and join us for coffee, biscuits, and a good chat ! Locations will change each week due to UCD room booking procedures, but we will contact you in advance.

- TRIPS !!! In Ireland and abroad! So far, three have been planned: a trip to the Royal Site of Rathcroghan, and two historical walk around Dublin. There will also be an annual trip abroad in January, location and dates to be confirmed, but a little bird told me it will be South, maybe Portugal.

- FUN ! Yes, we will organise parties, and nights outs, and pub crawls. Where and when will depend on assignments and exams, but fear not, this Society intends to make you have the best university year possible!

Finally, I would like to remind you that we have a FORUM where you can discuss all you want with fellow members and ask your committee for information. Please register and join the discussion !

All the best,
We hope you will enjoy your year at UCD and in the Society.
See you next week for our first events !

Our very own Liam recruiting members at the stall this week.
Liam is a long-standing member of the Society and is this year one of our Social Media Coordinator
and the creator of our Forum. 

Seminar series: updates

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that there have been two changes to our fortnightly seminar series:


Dr Maureen Doyle's "Keeping up appearances: dress and identity in early medieval Ireland" will take place on the September 26th and not September 19th.

The title for Dr Katharina Becker's seminar on Thursday, October 1`0th has been confirmed and is: "Token interpretations: the interpretation of cremation burial in Late Prehistoric Ireland".


Seminars take place at 5.30pm in A109 in the Newman Building.

Seminar series, lecture 1: Graffiti recording in the west wing of Kilmainham Gaol. "Reading" the revolutionary period?

Tonight kick started this year’s seminar series. We welcomed as our guest, Dr. Laura McAtackney of the UCD School of Social Justice. Her lecture tonight was based on her work in the West Wing of Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol titled the ‘Kilmainham Graffiti Project’. The aim of her work was to systematically record and interpret the graffiti inside the West Wing of the prison.

Dr. McAtackney noted in her lecture that graffiti studies tend to borrow heavily from sociology but do not overtly engage with the materiality surrounding it. The views of graffiti, especially in a prison environment, its artist, tend to assume illegal or illicit activity.  

Her work focused on the activities of the women prisoners within the Gaol and the mark that they left (although, some graffiti were not definable by gender). Women during the revolutionary period were often written out of the historical narrative with the exception of Constance Markievicz. Women however, had a much more important role and impact during these times. Dr. McAtackney also acknowledged the post functional life of Kilmainham especially that of the East Wing and the restoration that went with it at the hands of the Restoration Society.

Her work progressed slowly due to numerous periods of white washing and that there could be no physical interaction with the graffiti. She used photography to capture the graffiti and experimented with different light levels to enhance incisions and surface drawing that may not have been visible in normal conditions.

She interpreted and compared her discoveries with numerous other external sources such as memoirs, letters, autographs, etc, to fully understand the history of the walls.
Dr. McAtackney’s lecture was quite captivating and she fully engaged with her audience and ended with a slide show of some her favourite pieces. Both the Department and Society look forward to the eventually publication of her work.

By Cian Corrigan

Our next seminar will take place on Thursday, September 26th and will address Early Mediaeval dress. Check the complete programme here.