Dig at Halloween ritual site to get under way

The secrets of Halloween may be discovered, as the first-ever archaeological excavations begin today on the Co Meath site hailed as the birthplace of the international festival.

A team of archaeologists and volunteers are set to undertake a three-week dig at Tlachtga near Athboy — most commonly thought to have been the ancient home of celebrations to mark the feast of Samhain, our modern Halloween.

Initial surveys already carried out using airborne laser scanning and geophysical techniques have revealed the area to have been a key ritual site, according to lead archaeologist Dr Stephen Davis from the UCD School of Archaeology.