Known Knowns, Known Unknowns And Unknown Unknowns: Rumsfeldian Archaeology On The Irish Road Schemes.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Photo: James Eogan, NRA

Photo: James Eogan, NRA

Aerial view of Woodstown, Co. Waterford test trenches, facing NE. Photo courtesy of James Eogan, NRA

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs

Plant macrofossils

Wood and charcoal

Diatoms and Foraminifera

Beetles

Diagram by Emma Tetlow

Meso li thic

5000 BC

Meso li thic

Meso li thic

5000 BC

Neo li thic

3500 BC

Neo li thic and E arly Br onz e

Neo li thic

3500 BC

Ear ly Br onze

2500 BC

Ear ly Br onze

2500 BC

Middle Bronze

1500 BC

Middle Bronze Age 1500

Middle Bronze

1500 BC

Ir on Age

1 BC

Ir on Age and M edi eval

Ir on Age

1 BC

Medieval

AD 1500

Medieval

AD 1500

Part Two Knowledge, value and the Celtic tiger.

“ The success of any archaeological project must be judged primarily by the research questions/issues it sets out to answer and the knowledge it produces. With some exceptions, the current preoccupation of the development-led archaeology is largely with data/information collection and management rather than the quest for knowledge. To address this situation, immediate priority must be given to the standardisation of data collection/recording and to its interpretation by directors and other archaeologists involved in excavation projects.” UCD 2006. Archaeology 2020: Repositioning Irish Archaeology in the knowledge Economy. p35

“The lack of fully published final reports on archaeological excavations has become of increasing concern in recent years. This means that we are not getting the return we should be getting from the massive increase we have seen in development led excavations.” Department of Environment, Heritage, and Local Government. 2007. Review of Archaeological Policy and Practice in Ireland: Identifying the Issues. 13.