From illegal dump to archeological summer school
With the old mattresses and rusted bicycles removed, the history of the five-acre site is slowly being uncovered.
“To see the bones in real life is so different to just what you see in a text book. It is wonderful,” says Melissa Clark, 20, from Ohio, who is taking part in the excavations, organised by the Irish Archaeology Field School (IAFS), for the second summer in a row.
They are on lands where, in the 13th century, the Dominicans built the Black Friary.
Trim was once the capital of the Lordship of Meath, which was second only to Dublin as the wealthiest holding in Ireland at the time.
It was home to an annual market and people travelled from France, Germany and Belgium to attend it.
“This was a busy town and there was a constant bustle and activity here for a couple of hundred years,” explained academic director with the school Finola O’Carroll, who is also the chairperson of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland.
One of the important aspects of the IAFS project is that it allows anyone interested to get involved, which Finola says is critical.
“Our heritage is not an elitist thing and it belongs to everyone,” she said. “I think the school is unique in that we encourage people who are not archaeology students to come along and be a student and work here for a few days.”
For those who are studying archaeology in university, the field work gives them credits for their courses.
In recent days, the Trim excavations have found a number of skeletons.
After examining one particular skull dating from around 1540, one American graduate was able to decipher some of the secrets of its owner.
“Based on the tooth wear, I would say this chap was somewhere between 40 and 50 years old when he died,” said Siobhan Swidersky, 35, from Minnesota, USA. “He had arthritis and I also think he had TB.”
She pointed to a hole on the outside of the skull and on the reverse there was a black spot. She found what she thinks, “is healed bone. He was some guy!” she quipped.
