Take a trip into the past with ‘Archaeology in the Glens’

The ‘Archaeology in the Glens’ event will run from 10am-4pm on each of the days and will consist of four activity areas located in the triangle of land adjacent to the main carpark.

The four activities taking place will be a pop-up museum, pottery area with kiln, children’s activity area, and an archery area.

So why not go along and discover the lives of our ancestors, from the earliest hunter-gatherer to the modern society we have today.

Archaeology gives us a unique insight into the past through the artefacts our ancestors left behind in the earth beneath our feet and Irish Archaeological Research (IAR) will be launching an innovative, hands-on, heritage scheme called the ‘The Open Air Museum’.

This project will showcase the artefacts found during archaeological investigations around the country and enable the public to interact with them. As well as the museum exhibit there will be a living history component that will allow people to experience how our ancestors might have made tools and equipment and how we think they may have lived. There will be archaeologists on hand to answer any questions about the local heritage and any aspect of the event.

The Pop-Up Museum will provide a focal point for the event as it will be first activity people will see/enter when they arrive. The museum will be housed in a marquee and will contain a variety of archaeological artefacts and will be staffed by at least one archaeologist ready to answer any questions about the displays or the activities on offer.

As the Antrim coast has been subject to much development over the past couple of decades, several archaeological sites were uncovered during the works. The public may not have heard about the majority of these sites. IAR’s museum will deliver information about the most important of these hidden sites as well as displaying a wide range of archaeological artefacts from prehistoric pottery, axes and arrowheads to post-medieval clay pipes. Alongside the genuine artefacts will be replicas, showing how some of these artefacts may have looked when originally made.

There will also be models of prehistoric dwellings to complement information about how Ireland was populated; from the few tribes of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, armed with just bows and arrows, to the large-scale farming communities of the Neolithic, who purged the landscape of trees using stone axes and fire. IAR will also look at the villages of the Bronze Age, examples of which have been found in north Antrim at Portrush.

Junior Archaeology Workshops will be staged especially for under 12’s where they will learn about their Celtic warrior ancestors and the art they used on their clothes, jewellery, and weapons. They will be able to design and make their own Celtic warrior shield and helmet as well as try their hand at Celtic art. The area will be located between the Museum and the Pottery area under a marquee. The children can sit and take as long as they like painting, colouring-in and/or making shields and helmets. All the materials needed for these activities will be provided and there will be at least one archaeologist on hand to tell the children about their Celtic past and help them to make and create pieces of Celtic art.

The Museum is free, Pottery is £2 per pot to get your pot fired and take home, Childrens Activity is £1 per child, amd Archery is £1.00 for three arrows.