Tara expert appointed to oversee M3 dig
Submitted by coldrum on Monday, 02 July 2007 Page Views: 1227
Site WatchCountry: Ireland (Republic of) County: Co. CorkInternal Links:
An expert on the Hill of Tara has been appointed by Minister for the Environment John Gormley to a special committee overseeing the excavation of newly discovered ruins found close to a controversial proposed motorway route.
Dr Conor Newman, an archaeology lecturer with the Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway has agreed to join the committee which has been set up to advise on how to ensure that the archaeological excavation of the national monument found near the proposed M3 route at Lismullin, Co Meath, is carried out.
The group, made-up of government specialists and university lecturers, met today for the first time.
Dr Newman's appointment has been welcomed by environmentalists who have called on the Government to extend his remit to oversee further excavations.
"The National Monuments Service of my Department, the National Museum, the National Roads Authority and Professor Gabriel Cooney of the School of Archaeology, UCD are also represented on the committee", Mr Gormley said.
"The committee met for the first time today and will advise on the conduct of the archaeological investigations to be carried in relation to the monument.
"The committee will also provide advice on the publication and dissemination of the results of the excavations.
"The committee will continue to meet on a regular basis over the course of the excavation of the monument," he added. Tara Watch, a group of environmentalists campaigning for the site's preservation, said the news was timely as another underground chamber was revealed yesterday at the same site.
The group is calling on the Minister for the Environment to extend Dr Newman's remit to allow him to inspect this latest complex.
"While we welcome the appointment, his remit should not be limited to the Lismullin henge alone, but should also cover the newly discovered souterrains, which appear to be national monuments," said Tara Watch's Vincent Salafia.
"Now that a second beehive souterrain chamber has been revealed, the National Roads Authority cannot deny that the new site is potentially a national monument.
"Professor George Eogan has described the souterrain site as very significant and we would hope that the minister would appoint Conor Newman to oversee these excavations too."
ireland.com.
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