Urn Burial Excavation on the M11 in County Wexford

This is the first of two videos by Keith Currams that document the excavation and conservation of two prehistoric urn burials that were discovered on a site in the townland of Quarry, near Ferns in north County Wexford, in July 2014. This video records the on-site excavation and successful lifting of one of the urn burials. The burials were part of a small Early Bronze Age cemetery, approximately 3,750 years old, found in the course of test excavations in farmland being acquired for the construction of a new section of the M11 Dublin–Wexford road. The discovery of a prehistoric urn burial is a comparatively rare event in the course of excavations on proposed road schemes. When feasible, particularly well-preserved urns are lifted intact. This is a nerve-racking process that takes many hours to ensure that the delicate pottery vessel and its contents are excavated with the maximum care. The site was discovered and excavated by archaeologists from TVAS (Ireland) Ltd. The excavation and conservation was undertaken on behalf of Wexford County Council and TII (formerly NRA). The archaeological costs were fully funded by TII.

View the second video at    • Conservation of prehistoric urns from the ...