Conserving a Castle: The Connection between Archeology and Preservation in Making History Accessible

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Nestled in the hidden heartlands of Roscommon, Ireland is Ballintober Castle. Ballintober Castle and its surrounding deserted village are the site of an archeological field school, Castles in Communities. As the field school progresses into its fifth year, castle conservation becomes more important for continuing archeological work and maintaining the cultural significance of Ballintober Castle. Both conservation and archeological work are important as the modern town of Ballintober views the castle as an essential site for tourism and local heritage. One goal of conservation for the local community is to connect Ballintober Castle with surrounding cultural sites along the Suck Valley Way. The Suck Valley Way Initiative has created hiking trails and canoeing for an active way to experience history. Conservation would allow visitors access to see inside Ballintober Castle instead of just walking past. Connecting Ballintober Castle to the Suck Valley Way would help paint the picture of the historical landscape, showing the importance of the current archeology and history of the site with modern day economic and community interests of tourism and historic preservation. This paper will demonstrate the importance of conservation for Ballintober Castle serving as a place of cultural heritage and connection to the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25716