TV special digs for clues to Fermanagh’s past

In Digging for Ireland, Professor Alice Roberts and archaeologist Matthew Williams go in search of long lost treasures and unearth new clues that tell the story of Ireland’s past.

From their base in the Ulster Museum, Alice and Matthew will give viewers expert insight into the most outstanding digs of 2014 that have taken place in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. They’ll also look back on some of the most talked about archaeological projects from previous years, telling our story in a way only archaeology can.

The duo go beneath the waves on the north coast to see divers recover the gold from the Spanish Armada ship, the Girona, in 1967 and get a close-up view of these treasures today.

Staying on the north coast, we join a major excavation at Dunluce Castle – once the seat of power of a new Plantation town and the landlord Randall McDonnell.

The dig, and the finds uncovered, give a snapshot of what life was like for the settlers there in the 17th century.

And a team in Fermanagh attempt to settle a modern day dispute about a historic confrontation – searching for the exact site of where the Battle of the Ford of The Biscuits took place in 1594 during the Nine Years War.

Local knowledge differs from the history books – but who’s right?

During the programme, viewers get to share in the digs and the discoveries that took place during the year with on-site filming by the archaeology teams.

They’ll also get expert insight into the digs and the treasures that were found to understand what these new finds mean and analyse some of the artefacts housed in the Ulster Museum.

The programme also includes: a dig on a 3000 year-old cemetery in County Wexford; could new theories explain the death of one of Ireland’s ‘bog bodies’ dating from around 900BC; a dig on the Hill of Ward makes an unexpected discovery, the skeleton of a baby; we go beneath the waves again to see a perfectly preserved bronze age boat in Lough Corrib; and accompany a dig at Spike Island – Ireland’s Alcatraz.

FERMANAGH features in a new one-hour TV special which will air next Monday, February 23, at 9pm.

In Digging for Ireland, Professor Alice Roberts and archaeologist Matthew Williams go in search of long lost treasures and unearth new clues that tell the story of Ireland’s past.

From their base in the Ulster Museum, Alice and Matthew will give viewers expert insight into the most outstanding digs of 2014 that have taken place in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. They’ll also look back on some of the most talked about archaeological projects from previous years, telling our story in a way only archaeology can.

The duo go beneath the waves on the north coast to see divers recover the gold from the Spanish Armada ship, the Girona, in 1967 and get a close-up view of these treasures today.

Staying on the north coast, we join a major excavation at Dunluce Castle – once the seat of power of a new Plantation town and the landlord Randall McDonnell.

The dig, and the finds uncovered, give a snapshot of what life was like for the settlers there in the 17th century.

And a team in Fermanagh attempt to settle a modern day dispute about a historic confrontation – searching for the exact site of where the Battle of the Ford of The Biscuits took place in 1594 during the Nine Years War.

Local knowledge differs from the history books – but who’s right?

During the programme, viewers get to share in the digs and the discoveries that took place during the year with on-site filming by the archaeology teams.

They’ll also get expert insight into the digs and the treasures that were found to understand what these new finds mean and analyse some of the artefacts housed in the Ulster Museum.

The programme also includes: a dig on a 3000 year-old cemetery in County Wexford; could new theories explain the death of one of Ireland’s ‘bog bodies’ dating from around 900BC; a dig on the Hill of Ward makes an unexpected discovery, the skeleton of a baby; we go beneath the waves again to see a perfectly preserved bronze age boat in Lough Corrib; and accompany a dig at Spike Island – Ireland’s Alcatraz.