Episode One - The Island prison from 1847-1883

In the opening episode we find out how the idea for this innovative excavation project emerged and how it has allowed us to gain some understanding of the daily life of a convict, the role of religious objects in that life and the hopes that sustained convicts in hopeless surroundings.

In this episode the projects director, Dr Barra O'Donnabhainn of the Dept of Archaeology at UCC explains how The Spike Island Archaeological Project is a UCC lead project that is overseeing the excavation of the Spike Island fort complex and in particular the convict prison that operated on Spike Island from 1847 to 1883.

He reveals how Bio-Archaeology, which uses human skeletal remains as the basic data base, has unearthed a previously untold and intriguing story on the island.