Maree Project at Rathgurreen Ring Fort 
Maree Peninsula, Ireland

Make your way to Galway City from Dublin or Shannon Airport to your home base in Galway City for the archaeological dig at Rathgurreen.

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Galway, known as the City of Tribes is a city filled with energy, history and a lively nightlife. The cobbled medieval streets are home to all sorts of pubs, craft shops and cafés. Head to Kirwan's lane where you’ll find musicians playing for the crowds or daredevil street performers defying danger. Kirwan's Lane is also home to relics of 16th and 17th century architecture.

During the course of the day, you’ll make your way to the modern, boutique-style Hyde Hotel where we will be staying for the next 6 nights. Check in at 3pm (if you’re early, feel free to drop your bags) The hotel is in the heart of Galway City and only about a minute from Eyre Square. It’s close to some of Galway’s best bars and restaurants and the cobbled Shop Street, the retail hub of Galway.

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You'll meet your dig companions tonight for a Welcome Dinner before heading back to the Hyde Hotel to settle in for the night. Tomorrow starts the real adventure!

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Accommodation: Hyde Hotel,  Double Occupancy​

Meals: Dinner

The next morning begins your five-day excavation of the Rathgurreen ringfort. This ringfort has not been excavated in over 70 years, with 2025 marking the beginning of modern excavations at the site – the application of modern methods and technology to test and enhance our knowledge of the site. Your work at Rathgurreen will take place over the course of five days, allowing participants to immerse themselves in the excavation, collection, and study of the artifacts and features awaiting discovery. ​

Your work this year will entail excavation of an area in the interior of the ringfort and the exploration of some of its earthworks. You will be hands-on for the entire five days of this excavation, learning the methods of archaeological excavation and archaeological recording.

Each day begins with a hearty Irish breakfast at your hotel. You'll grab a specially packed lunch, drinks and snacks for later and then at 8:15am, your driver will transport you and your group for the 30-minute drive to archaeological dig site at Rathgurreeen on the Maree Peninsula. 

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During your 5-day excavation, your days will consist of:

• Working with site directors, Dr. Michelle Comber and Dr. Noel McCarthy and other professional archaeologists. You'll also be working alongside  international university students and local community participants.

• Archaeological fieldwork begins at 9am and ends at 5pm each day.

• You’ll break for mid-morning and lunch (It’s time to find your hearty packed lunch and enjoy a well-deserved break to your day.)

• At about 5pm each day, your driver will be waiting for you to escort you back to the Hyde Hotel.​

• Evenings are free to relax and enjoy on your own

Accommodation: Hyde Hotel,  Double Occupancy​

Meals: Breakfast and a packed lunch each day

Monday through Thursday evenings, dinner is on your own.

Tuesday and Friday we'll enjoy special activities together. See below. 

Tuesday, after you enjoy a dinner on your own, we'll meet up to enjoy a 2.5-hour craft beer tour in Galway. Guided by a local beer enthusiast who will provide a historical tour of the city and the beer scene, we'll stroll around visiting Galway’s most traditional pubs where we'll toast friends— Sláinte! 

Friday night is our last night together and it will be a treat! Tonight we'll dine together on a private food tour. Over the course of 3 hours, we'll discover the incredible food of the city of Tribes. We'll taste delicious treats from family-run businesses and artisanal producers, hear their stories and bond over a glass of craft beer.  

The night continues with an evening listening to traditional Irish music. We'll finish off our last night together at a local pub to catch live music from local players for a night of good craic.

This morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we'll bid farewell, as our time excavating the remains of ancient Ireland has come to an end.

You’ll make your own way to Dublin or Shannon airport or any other additional travels. If you are boarding a flight, be sure to arrive at the airport at least three and a half hours before your flight. Transportation to and from the airport can be arranged for an additional fee.

Meals: Breakfast ​

You will be working under the supervision of the archaeologists, for the duration of the excavation. Note that the tasks associated with working on an excavation can involve certain risks. Excavation work may involve difficult conditions, uneven terrain, unanticipated natural hazards, use of digging equipment, and/or strenuous manual labor. A general level of fitness is necessary for excavations, such as walking over uneven ground every day, walking up and down steps and inclines, kneeling, filling and carrying buckets of soil and stones. Most if not all activities will occur outdoors and are subject to the weather. 

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The Irish weather is notoriously changeable - rain, wind, sun all in one day; and sometimes even all at once! Generally, though, none of these are too extreme in summer and are easily managed with appropriate clothing.This is a rural area, so expect to encounter pollen, wild vegetation (like nettles), and insects - none of these are poisonous or very harmful in Ireland.

On-site facilities are rustic. There are no bathrooms, but portable toilets will be available. There will also be a few on-site tents for daytime shelter.

Click here for more details on what to expect on a archaeology dig. 

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Please pack:

1. Waterproof boots

2. Waterproof coat

3. Waterproof over-trousers

4. Clothes layers that can be removed

5. A hat for both rain and sun

6. Gardening gloves

7. Sunscreen

8. Allergy medications if needed

9. Daily packed lunch and drinks

10. Water bottle

11. Backpack

1. What makes the Maree Project significant?​
   The Maree Peninsula provides an ideal opportunity to study land-use through time as it preserves remains from every era of the Irish past. Rathgurreen Ringfort is important for a number of reasons – it may have Iron Age origins (Iron Age archaeology can be very difficult to find in Ireland), it had overseas contact, it was a high-status settlement in a well-known area, and also seems to have a strange - and as yet unique - construction sequence!​

2. What are your current research objectives at Rathgurreen?
   This excavation has been designed to examine land-use and sustainability to help gain knowledge relevant to the modern world. How did the people who lived at Rathgurreen interact with the land over time? How does that fit into the bigger picture on the peninsula – both contemporary with the site and what came before and after? How and why did things change? We have lots of questions!​

3. What was the most important or rewarding find at Rathgurreen?​When the site was excavated in the 1940s, part of a Roman oil lamp and French pottery were found. That is an indication that this was the site of a high-status family with connections to the outside world. We are looking forward to seeing what else we can dig up!

Dinner from Monday-Thursday are your own, as are evening activities on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. We suggest:​

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Monday: Make your way to nearby Eyre Square, where you’ll find a bust of US President John F Kennedy standing on the spot where he made a speech to approximately 100,000 people in Galway in 1963, on his last trip before his assassination. The architecturally significant old county courthouse, town hall and Lynch’s Castle are also close by.

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Wednesday: Head to the Spanish Arch, built in 1584 and overlooking the River Corrib. The arches were used to access the quays from the town when Galway was a walled city and this is all that remains. Nearby, The Spanish Arch Hotel on the bustling Quay Street is the perfect spot to enjoy a locally brewed beer and some people watching from its outdoor seating. Quay Street is home to most of the pubs, restaurants and cafes in Galway. It also has the best selection of live traditional music in bars such as The Quays, and Tigh Neachtain.​

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Thursday: ​Head to the Latin Quarter and treat yourself to an evening meal, perhaps a hearty bowl of Irish stew to warm you up, washed down with a hot Irish whiskey or creamy pint of Guinness. Then, venture to Salthill and take a stroll along the famous promenade, overlooking Galway Bay and on a clear day, the hills of County Clare. There are many fine restaurants and well-known pubs offering live Irish music. Among them are The Crane Bar, Tigh Neachtain, An Pucan and The Kings Head.