Aerial Archaeology in Ireland - The Heritage Council

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As a means of discovering archaeological remains, especially those which are unlikely to be revealed by other methods, aerial
archaeology has a fundamental role to play. While much can be achieved through aerial archaeology as a method of working in its
own right, it is often seen as complementary to other archaeological and historical techniques of examining the past. It is arguably
most powerful as a tool to be combined with other forms of archaeological work, and indeed with other disciplines of history,
geography and environmental studies. Much aerial archaeology can be seen not as a specifically archaeological science, but as part
of a wider process of multi-disciplinary interpretation of landscape which combines geology, topography, ecology and archaeology
to understand natural and anthropogenic forces of change (Mitchell and Ryan 1990; Aalen, Whelan and Stout 1997).
Figure 2: An early 19th-century artillery fort in Reenavanny, Whiddy Island, Co. Cork (Markus Casey)
1.2 A Brief History of Aerial Archaeology in Ireland
Although some air photography was undertaken in the British Isles in the early years of the 20th century, the earliest serious
consideration of its use for archaeological purposes in Ireland was outlined by Chart (1930). It was Chart who reported a 1927
initiative by the Ancient Monuments Board in Northern Ireland — working in collaboration with the Royal Air Force — to explore
the value of the technique. This reconnaissance, mainly aimed at known sites, clearly demonstrated the value of air photography
in identifying, recording and illustrating earthwork sites in the context of a range of key monuments in Northern Ireland. The sites
targeted included the Dorsey Entrenchments (for which a vertical photo-mosaic was created) and a number of other well-known
monuments, such as Navan. Other sites were also identified and recorded by the RAF team, adding to the known targets.
Raftery (1944, 120) referred to Chart’s paper and the early use of air photography by the simple expedient of using hand-held
cameras over the side of an open cockpit in 1929-30. Although there are earlier images of archaeological sites (e.g. Figure 3),
he cites the earliest archaeological air photography carried out in the Republic as being work done by the Army Air Corps in
1934. This was prepared in connection with archaeological excavations that were set up as part of a government scheme for
the relief of unemployment. Up until 1944, further work had been sporadic, and Raftery called for an initiative ‘to plan proper
collaboration in surveying many important archaeological sites all over this country. For it is by such planned co-operation that
any valuable results can be obtained…’. Raftery stressed the importance of matching up the skills of the aerial photographer in
understanding how good photographs may be obtained, with those of the archaeologist in identifying and interpreting features
to be recorded.