Case Studies

Case Studies

Tobar Archaeological Services have played an integral role in many exciting projects since our inception in 2003. 

The discovery of significant archaeology on a site may be considered a daunting obstacle to a development. Through careful planning and management, however, the resolution of such archaeology can enhance the visitor/user experience and add layers of positive information and interaction to a development. The following case studies demonstrate how the archaeological aspect of a site resulted in the recovery of a wealth of information through the excavations directed by Tobar Archaeological Services.

Excavations at Fota Wildlife Park

Excavations at Fota Wildlife Park

Tobar Archaeological Services were appointed by Fota Wildlife Park to carry out archaeological investigations within the proposed park extension in 2013 and 2014.

The investigations led to the exciting discovery of previously unknown archaeological monuments including two Bronze Age cooking sites (Fulacht fia) and a large enclosure dating to the early medieval period. The entire enclosure was excavated by the archaeological team over a period of three months. This showed the site to be surrounded by a large defensive fosse which enclosed the area occupied by its inhabitants. The remains of at least four houses were uncovered in addition to a stone-lined subterranean chamber known as a ‘souterrain’.

Elsewhere in the park the archaeological team also excavated a fulacht fia in advance of the new development. All of the archaeological work was funded by Fota Wildlife Park and has added significantly to the archaeological record of Foaty Island and the Cork Harbour area.

Excavations at Boyle Abbey, National Monument, County Roscommon

Excavations at Boyle Abbey, National Monument, County Roscommon

The multi-disciplinary conservation project carried out at Boyle Abbey, Co. Roscommon was one of the largest undertaken at a National Monument in Ireland. It was led by the OPW in conjunction with the National Monuments Service and a team of conservation and engineering specialists. 

It focused on the north wall of the abbey which was no longer extant, and whose absence had in part led to the subsidence of the pier foundations along the north arcade and consequently the leaning of the north aisle wall. The ultimate aim of the project was to ensure the future preservation of this National Monument by painstakingly dismantling and reconstructing the north aisle of the church on solid foundations. None of this work could be carried out without extensive archaeological excavations which were undertaken by Tobar Archaeological Services and directed by Annette Quinn over a period of several years from 2006 to 2012.

The excavations led to the uncovering of over 200 burials dating to the medieval and late-medieval period. Numerous artefacts relating to the occupation of the abbey by the Cistercians during this time were recovered, as were objects dating to the later use of the site as a military barracks. Boyle Abbey is open to the public and information about the excavations is available to view at the site.