Location: Donegal, Ireland
Sites Visited: Donegal Castle & Neolithic Burial Tombs
Today was a fabulous day. We arrived within the Irish province of Donnegal, but specifically went to Killybegs. I woke up as usual, just in time for breakfast. I am so not a morning person on this expedition. I decided to eat alone this morning on the grounds to not have to talk. I have learned the beauty of silence is good for the spirit. Not to mention, we've been talking so much, alone time is a good thing. I thought that was enough, but everyone kept wondering and asking why I was eating alone. So needless to say, a passenger joined me. In the end, I enjoyed our conversation.
I originally decided to tour the Donegal castle and to go to the wool shop after lunch. When we arrived in town the told us we had an hour to visit the shops tour the area. So I went on my hunt for a sweater. I walked up and down the streets several times, and finally came upon this one shop at the recommendation of a local, only to find no one was there. Bummer. So I went back down towards the busses and came up on this shop called Irish House. Several of the items were a bit pricy, but it seems like the wool sweaters are all running for around 100 Euro, so I said why not. They didn’t have the style I was wanting , and I said to self, I knew I should have purchased the sweater back in the town of Dingle. Oh well. After much analysis I decided on this tweed cape. It was either that or the coral cape, which looked magnificent against my skin tone. I thought the hunter green could have also been a contender but that was the first one I put down. But the tweed is a lot more elegant, a signature piece that I will be able to style for years to come.
The shop offered two things, an Irish coffee (which tastes nothing like our coffee flavored with Irish crème), and a tour of their workshop to see the process to make their sweaters/capes. I went upstairs to the shop to take a peek. So facinating.
After speaking with several guests, I realized quickly that I was late for the tour of the castle. I forgot that we all had different times to report. Thankfully it was just across the street. Yes, this castle sits in the middle of the small village. Amazing to have a piece of history right in front of you.
It was quite picturesque, smaller than what I imagined, but still rather grand. While I wanted to know the history, I figured I’d just Google it since I was late for the official tour. I was quite facintated with the images of how the castle had changed over time, but also with how this structure came to be situated in the middle of the town? I mean at one point, I am sure this sat on an isolated plot of land. So my question is what caused the industrialization of the area-when did it occur and why? Was it after the famine? Who lived here, what did they control? What as special about this region…why build a castle here? At that point I realized the castle was called the Donegal castle and it was owned by the O’Donnels. The names are very similar. Making connections!! This is what I want my students to do. The castle was constructed around 1550 and a century later another addition was made when another family moved in.
The second part of the day was a lot more interesting. I decided to forgo the trip to the woolen mill and instead go visit and ancient burial ground. The archeogolgy in this part of teh world is just amazing. I figured I could learn about the process to make wool from Paola sinc she went on that expedition. Now when I say ancient, I do mean ancient, this burial site predated the pyramids of Egypt. The first site was estimated at about 3000bc and the second site around 4000 bc. Just amazing all around. Not to mention Vinnie, Peter and Jim know their stuff. When they talk, you want to listen and soak up everything.
As far as the burial site, it really looked like a scene out of the Flintstones, stone walls and a capstone on top, only on several of the burial sites the capstone had tumbled to the earth. So of course I had many questions: How in the WORLD do you date this site? Did you unearth/excavate this particular site, why or why not? Did you find any artifacts? The inscription on the stone, how do you know that it was from this time period vs. someone about 200 years ago having some “fun” and drilling a round circle to make it appear as if it is historic? What clues led you to believe it was burial cite? What have archaeologists found at this site? Are there other sites like this one that reveal clues to the past? Are the findings confirmed? I had a lot of questions trust me and Vinny and Richardson thought they were great.
So here is what I know? These particular sites have not been unearthed, however there are other sites in this region with similar (very similar) bearings, which is why they can conclude that they are burial sites. The others sites did not reveal bodies, however, they did reveal artifacts such as spears/pottery/ tools located in the sites to allow for carbon dating. They can not date the stone, as the stone itself is from thousands of years old-you can’t use stone to date a time persay, well not in this case.
I took several pictures of the two sites visited, which surprisingly just sit in the back of a farmer’s field. Vinny and Richardson delegated the task of sharing the information to a local archaeologist, one who had been studying the stones for years. The fact that the tombs sit in an enclosed area indicate that of a “ritual/ceremony”. Also, there appears to be multiple compartments, and on a “gate” . The compartments, archeologists presume to be “families” of clans. In other words, it is not just one grave, but many. Again, all of this was very fascinating.
Then I learned about the “bogs”. So yeah, everyone else knew about bogs except me. Never knew this was a fossil fuel. When the guy told me it takes thousands of years for bog to form (decomposed organic matter/trees/plants) I proudly said, “so this means it is a non renewable resource.” Ok so while others may scoff at my learning, I must admit, in the area of science, even I become excited when I catch onto things. I then made the connection to the video I found on you tube the other day about bog bodies. It was all making sense. I never really watched the movie, but I did walk away understanding that there is a scientific explanation about this “bog” stuff. What was more intriguing is how ‘bog’ material can preserve items. Vinny shared that archeologists and local famers have unearthed items like butter and milk, which is still in usable condition. Now that was mind boggling. He said that bog can act as a form of refrigeration but also a preservative. He said that Ireland was one of the regions that produces large scale bog fields which can be cut and dried into pelts to use for burning and heating homes. It takes thousands of years to produce bog -one of the many things I am learning on this expedition that I never knew.
Sites Visited: Donegal Castle & Neolithic Burial Tombs
Today was a fabulous day. We arrived within the Irish province of Donnegal, but specifically went to Killybegs. I woke up as usual, just in time for breakfast. I am so not a morning person on this expedition. I decided to eat alone this morning on the grounds to not have to talk. I have learned the beauty of silence is good for the spirit. Not to mention, we've been talking so much, alone time is a good thing. I thought that was enough, but everyone kept wondering and asking why I was eating alone. So needless to say, a passenger joined me. In the end, I enjoyed our conversation.
I originally decided to tour the Donegal castle and to go to the wool shop after lunch. When we arrived in town the told us we had an hour to visit the shops tour the area. So I went on my hunt for a sweater. I walked up and down the streets several times, and finally came upon this one shop at the recommendation of a local, only to find no one was there. Bummer. So I went back down towards the busses and came up on this shop called Irish House. Several of the items were a bit pricy, but it seems like the wool sweaters are all running for around 100 Euro, so I said why not. They didn’t have the style I was wanting , and I said to self, I knew I should have purchased the sweater back in the town of Dingle. Oh well. After much analysis I decided on this tweed cape. It was either that or the coral cape, which looked magnificent against my skin tone. I thought the hunter green could have also been a contender but that was the first one I put down. But the tweed is a lot more elegant, a signature piece that I will be able to style for years to come.
The shop offered two things, an Irish coffee (which tastes nothing like our coffee flavored with Irish crème), and a tour of their workshop to see the process to make their sweaters/capes. I went upstairs to the shop to take a peek. So facinating.
After speaking with several guests, I realized quickly that I was late for the tour of the castle. I forgot that we all had different times to report. Thankfully it was just across the street. Yes, this castle sits in the middle of the small village. Amazing to have a piece of history right in front of you.
It was quite picturesque, smaller than what I imagined, but still rather grand. While I wanted to know the history, I figured I’d just Google it since I was late for the official tour. I was quite facintated with the images of how the castle had changed over time, but also with how this structure came to be situated in the middle of the town? I mean at one point, I am sure this sat on an isolated plot of land. So my question is what caused the industrialization of the area-when did it occur and why? Was it after the famine? Who lived here, what did they control? What as special about this region…why build a castle here? At that point I realized the castle was called the Donegal castle and it was owned by the O’Donnels. The names are very similar. Making connections!! This is what I want my students to do. The castle was constructed around 1550 and a century later another addition was made when another family moved in.
The second part of the day was a lot more interesting. I decided to forgo the trip to the woolen mill and instead go visit and ancient burial ground. The archeogolgy in this part of teh world is just amazing. I figured I could learn about the process to make wool from Paola sinc she went on that expedition. Now when I say ancient, I do mean ancient, this burial site predated the pyramids of Egypt. The first site was estimated at about 3000bc and the second site around 4000 bc. Just amazing all around. Not to mention Vinnie, Peter and Jim know their stuff. When they talk, you want to listen and soak up everything.
As far as the burial site, it really looked like a scene out of the Flintstones, stone walls and a capstone on top, only on several of the burial sites the capstone had tumbled to the earth. So of course I had many questions: How in the WORLD do you date this site? Did you unearth/excavate this particular site, why or why not? Did you find any artifacts? The inscription on the stone, how do you know that it was from this time period vs. someone about 200 years ago having some “fun” and drilling a round circle to make it appear as if it is historic? What clues led you to believe it was burial cite? What have archaeologists found at this site? Are there other sites like this one that reveal clues to the past? Are the findings confirmed? I had a lot of questions trust me and Vinny and Richardson thought they were great.
So here is what I know? These particular sites have not been unearthed, however there are other sites in this region with similar (very similar) bearings, which is why they can conclude that they are burial sites. The others sites did not reveal bodies, however, they did reveal artifacts such as spears/pottery/ tools located in the sites to allow for carbon dating. They can not date the stone, as the stone itself is from thousands of years old-you can’t use stone to date a time persay, well not in this case.
I took several pictures of the two sites visited, which surprisingly just sit in the back of a farmer’s field. Vinny and Richardson delegated the task of sharing the information to a local archaeologist, one who had been studying the stones for years. The fact that the tombs sit in an enclosed area indicate that of a “ritual/ceremony”. Also, there appears to be multiple compartments, and on a “gate” . The compartments, archeologists presume to be “families” of clans. In other words, it is not just one grave, but many. Again, all of this was very fascinating.
Then I learned about the “bogs”. So yeah, everyone else knew about bogs except me. Never knew this was a fossil fuel. When the guy told me it takes thousands of years for bog to form (decomposed organic matter/trees/plants) I proudly said, “so this means it is a non renewable resource.” Ok so while others may scoff at my learning, I must admit, in the area of science, even I become excited when I catch onto things. I then made the connection to the video I found on you tube the other day about bog bodies. It was all making sense. I never really watched the movie, but I did walk away understanding that there is a scientific explanation about this “bog” stuff. What was more intriguing is how ‘bog’ material can preserve items. Vinny shared that archeologists and local famers have unearthed items like butter and milk, which is still in usable condition. Now that was mind boggling. He said that bog can act as a form of refrigeration but also a preservative. He said that Ireland was one of the regions that produces large scale bog fields which can be cut and dried into pelts to use for burning and heating homes. It takes thousands of years to produce bog -one of the many things I am learning on this expedition that I never knew.
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