The Shindig

In our 'Meet our Archaeologists' series, Jonathan Millar and Tenaya Jorgensen sit down with Louis Stafford of Red River Archaeology to discuss why he decided to be an archaeologist, his weirdest find, and his advice to young archaeologists just starting in the field.

We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Cork County Countil and TVAS to ensure that the archaeological impacts of the construction of the M28 motorway from Cork to Ringaskiddy are mitigated. Joining us today are Ken Hanley, from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and Ed Lyne, from Cork County Council, to tell us more about the project and what kind of archaeology we expect to find!

Everybody loves the Vikings, but what do we know about the Viking Age economies of Britain and Ireland? Dr Tom Horne discusses his new book, "A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy," which combines network-kingdoms and nodal market-networks theories to link the economies of the Vikings in Dublin and York.We also talk to Tom about his favourite excavations, his funiest moment in the trenches, and where he'd most like to dig at next.This is part 2 of 2, so make sure to go back to the previous episode to hear the rest of our conversation with Tom!You can follow Tom on Twitter: @HorneSupremacyYou can purchase his new bookon Kindle: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy (Routledge Archaeologies of the Viking World) eBook : Horne, Tom: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Storevia Google Play: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy by Tom Horne - Books on Google PlayOr in Hardback: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the (routledge.com)

Everybody loves the Vikings, but what do we know about the Viking Age economies of Britain and Ireland? Dr Tom Horne discusses his new book, "A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy," which combines network-kingdoms and nodal market-networks theories to link the economies of the Vikings in Dublin and York.This is part 1 of 2, so make sure to check back in to hear the rest of our conversation with Tom!You can purchase his new bookon Kindle: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy (Routledge Archaeologies of the Viking World) eBook : Horne, Tom: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Storevia Google Play: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the Importation of a Southern Scandinavian Silver Bullion Economy by Tom Horne - Books on Google PlayOr in Hardback: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain: Trade Networks and the (routledge.com)

In the first of our Meet our Archaeologist series, we sit down with Dr Enda O'Flaherty. Enda works as an archaeologist for Rubicon Heritage, where he fulfills many rolls within operations, survey, and post-excavation, and we recently completed his PhD at NUI Galway. Enda shares how he got into archaeology, why he decided to do his PhD, and explains what exactly a turlough is. Disused School Houses – Home Page | Disused School Houses of Ireland (endaoflaherty.com)Buy his book here: Deserted Schoolhouses of Ireland - Enda O'Flaherty - 9781848893511 (kennys.ie)

On Thursday 13 January, BBC's "Digging for Britain" featured a rare Early Roman wooden figured discovered at Twyford. The excavation was undertaken by INFRA, a joint venture between Network Archaeology and our own Rubicon Heritage. We pulled Ciaran Feeney from Network and Louis Stafford from Rubicon out of the field to talk to them about the moment of discovery and ask them what they think the wooden figure was used for.

What is a broch? Considered the most enigmatic structures of Scottish prehistory, brochs are massive circular stone towers with a long history of folklore, amateur enquiry, and academic investigation and excavation. Built between 400 BC and 100 AD, these unusually tall structures were design withed a degree of sophistication and ingenuity unparalleled in the British Isles at the time. Despite everything we know, there is still so much left to learn about these impressive structures! Iain Maclean and Kenneth McElroy sit down with us to talk about the Caithness Broch Project, a grass-roots charity working to promote, preserve, and conserve the archaeology and heritage of Caithness. They answer our most burning questions, including: what were brochs used for? How long were they in use? And - most important of all - did they have a roof?Learn more and donate at their website: Caithness Broch Project - Archaeology in Caithness, Scotland (thebrochproject.co.uk)Follow them on social media:Facebook: (1) Caithness Broch Project | FacebookInstagram: Caithness Broch Project (@caithnessbrochproject) • Instagram photos and videosTwitter: Caithness Broch Project (@TheBrochProject) / Twitter

Sandra Henry, the lead research archaeologist for the CHERISH project, talks to us about her work surveying coastal heritage in Ireland and Wales.To learn more about the project, you can visit their website Home - CHERISH (cherishproject.eu), or follow them on social media CHERISH Project (@CHERISHproj) / Twitter or @cherish_project (Instagram).

Julian Robert Post-Melbye, a member of the glacial archaeology team for the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, speaks to us about life as a glacial archaeologist, some of the incredible finds their team has uncovered, and how they are racing against time to recover as many artefacts as possible before the glaciers of Norway disappear forever.To learn more, you can visit their website Secrets Of The Ice and follow them on social media: Secrets Of The Ice (@brearkeologi) / Twitter, @secretsoftheice (Instagram).