Archaeology and Ideology in Nineteenth Century Ireland: Nationalism or Neutrality? 9781841713403, 9781407319957

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Table of Contents
Abstract
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Tables and Figures
Introduction
Chapter One: Discourse, Disciplines, Knowledge and Power: Writing, Meaning and the Influence of Science
Chapter Two: The Changing Nineteenth Century
Chapter Three: Ireland in History
Chapter Four: Historical and Archaeological Study Groups in Nineteenth Century lreland
Chapter Five: From Local to National: The Kilkenny Archaeology Society (1849) to The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1890)
Chapter Six: The Impact of Nineteenth Century Archaeology Societies
Chapter Seven: Irish Antiquities, Archaeology and the Media: 1830-1900
Chapter Eight: The Construction of Ireland's Past: The Creators
Chapter Nine: Using Archaeology: Museums, Landscape and Universities
Chapter Ten: Maintaining Control of the Image of the Past
Bibliography

Citation preview

Archaeology and Ideology in Nineteenth Century Ireland: Nationalism or Neutrality?

Janis M. McEwan

BAR British Series 354 2003

Published in 2019 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR British Series 354 Archaeology and Ideology in Nineteenth Century Ireland: Nationalism or Neutrality? © Janis M. McEwan and the Publisher 2003 The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9781841713403 paperback ISBN 9781407319957 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841713403 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by John and Erica Hedges in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2003. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2019.

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ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................................................... I PREFA CE ............................................................................................................................................................................. I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATIONS

................................................................................................................................................. I

......................................................................................................... .................................................. 111

TABLES AND FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................. Ill INTRODU

TION ................................................................................................................................................................1

I DISCO URSE, DIS IPLINES , KNOWLEDGE AND POWER: WRITING, MEANING AN D THE INFLUEN CE OF SCIENCE ...............................................................................................................................................3 1.1 AR HA.EOL GY AND I Dl::OLOGY ··· ········· ··· ··········· ········ ··· ··· ······ ··········· ················ ···· ··· ··· ········ ·············· ······· ·· ··· ·········· ·· ··· ·· ····3 1.2 DIS COURSE AS IAL PRODUCTION ... ... ..... .... .. ...... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .... ...... .......... .............. .................................... ................ 4 1.3 I NT - L CTUAL · AND KN OWLEDGE· ········ ··· ·· ···· ·· ·········· ····· ·········· ··· ·· ······ ·· ··· ·· ·· ······· ····· ·· ····· ···· ······ ····· ·· ······ ····· ·· ······· ··· ···· ····· 6 1.4 I NSTIT UTIONS A ND K N WLEDGE .. .. .. ...... .... .......... ... ... ...... .. ........ ..... .. ... ....... .. ..... ........ ..... .. .... .. ... ...... .. .. .. .... .... ..... ....... ...... .. 6 1.5 N c N-D ISCUR IVE PRA TICES .. .... ....... .... .... ..... .... .. ..................... 1.6 STRAT EGY T OWARD S A

ONTEXTUAL. AN ALYT IC/\

... ... ..... ..... ..... .. .. ...... ... ... ...... .. ... ... ........ .. .. ...... ..... ..... ........ . 6

HI ST RY OF AR CHA EOL GY .. ... .. ... ....... .... ... ... .. .. ... .. .... .. ... .. .... .. .......... 7

1.6. I The Histor ici ty of Archa eology ............... ........... ...... .... .......... ..... ........... ........... ................ .... ... ............. .... ........ ...... . 9 1.7 l· RAM WORK F R THIS TUDY ······ ···· ··············· ··············· ·· ··· ·· ········ ·· ····· ··· ····· ······ ······· ··· ···· ·· ········· ··· ·· ·· ······ ·· ········ ··· ·· ····· ····

2 THE CHANGING 2 . 1 I II STORICAL

C

IO

NINETEENTH CENTURY ........................................................................................................... 12

NT -.XT AND AR I IAEO OGY ........ .... ...............

....... ..... ... ............ ....... .... ..........................

... .. .... .... ..............

12

2.2 R El~Y - NTIN , TH E PA T ·········· ·········· ·· ······· ··· ············ ········ ·· ········· ··· ·· ···· ··· ····· ······ ················ ·········· ······· ··· ········· ··· ··· ········ ·· 16

2.2. I The Past as Ideology .................... ..................... .................... ........ ...... .............. ................ ...... .................... ...... ..... 18 HA EOLO ,Y SO I TI ES IN ENGLAND A ND W /\L ES: 1850- 1900 ... ... .. ..... ..... .... ...... ... ....... .... ...... ... .... ..... ...... ... ....... ........ . 19 2.3. I Fun ctions of Archaeology ocieties: Publi cation , Prese n a/ion . Muse ums ..... .............. ..... ........ ...... ........... ....... ... 20 2.3. 2 Ar chaeology ocieties and th e Br itish t>uhlic .... ....... ... .... ....... ...... .......... .... .... ................... ........... ...... ...... ...... ....... 22 2.3 .3 11~jec1 The mes in the Puhlications oJA rchaeology Soci eties ......... ..... ......... ........ ..... ............ ................ ............... 22 2 .4 I DEOLO Y AND AR HAEOLOGY O IETIES ................. ...... ..... .......... .. .......................... ...... ... ..... ..... ...... ... ... ... ... .. ... .. .. ...... . 23 2.-1.I A 'Relig ious Archaeo logy' .... ..... ..................... ... ....... ..... ........ ....... ...... ..... ........................... .......... ...... ..... ............. . 23 2. -1.2 Melding C/ass es ................................................ ................. ....... ..... ....... ................. ................... ..... ........ ................ 2-I 2. -1.3 A · ationa / Archa eo!of!y ' ......... .................... .... ... .... ..... ........... ......... ......... ........ ............... ......... ...... .......... ..... ....... 25 2.3 AR

2.5

FFE TS Of AR

1-IA.EOLO Y O I TY A TIYITY ON OCIETY A ND I DEOL GY ........ ..... ..... .... ....... .... ..... .. .... .... ... .. .. ...... .. ..... 26

3 IRELAND IN HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................ 27 3. 1 TH E

L,

A Y OF I RELAND . PAST ....................

URCES F R I RISH

3.2 3.3 A

ONT XTUAL BA CKGROUND FOR

3.4NfN ET -ENTH 3.5

.............................

....... ... .... ...... ... ... ......... .. ............... .. ............... ... ..... ....... 27

ATIONAL I DENTITY .. .... .. ... .... ....... ... .......... .. ..................

ENTURY IRI HNATI

IN TEENTH NAL ISMANDTK

VLTURE, NATIONAL IDENTITY AND AR HAEO

4 HISTORI CAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL

.. ...... ......... ...... .. ................. ...... ... .... ........... 28

NTURY JRISH AR CHA EOL

Y ..... ......... ...... ... ..... ...... ... ...... ... ...... ..... ... 32

PAST ..... ......... .. ....... .... ... .. ....... ....... .... .. .. .... ....... ... .. ....... .. .... .. ... .. .... 33

GISTS .. .......... .......... .... ......... .. ... ..... .... .. ..... ... ...... .. .. ...... .... ...... .... .... ..... .. 35

STUDY GROUPS IN NINETEENTH

4. 1 I NTR DU Tl N ..... .. .... ...... .... ........... ... .... ....... ... ... ...... .. .. ... ......... ...... ..................

CENTURY IRELAND ........ 38

.... .... ......... ........ ........ .... .. ... ....... .... .. .... ... 38

-I. I . I /-Ii ·tori ca l and Cultural ocieties ............................... .... ........... ..... ..... .... .............. ..... ..... ........... ........... ...... ... ...... .. 3 -1.I .2. ·Literary· oc ieties ............. ............ ................ ... ................ ........ .... ..... ..... ..................... .............. ....... .......... .......... -10 -1. l. 3 hur ch- Based Archa eology Organi:::ations ..... .......... .... .................... ............... ........................................ ..... ........ -12 IETIES.. ..... ....... .. .. ......... .. .. ............ .. .. .... ... ...... .............. ........ ...... .. ... .... .... .... . 44 HAEOLOGY -1.2. I Local Irish Archa eology ocielies ....... .......... ........ ... ... ............... ..... .......... ............................ ................................ -16

4.2 INTROD CTION TO I RI HAR

5 FROM LOCAL TO NATIONAL: THE KILKENNY ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY (1849) TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF IRELAND (1890) ...................................................................................................50 5. I CHANGING o - s 1GNAT IONS ···· ···· ····· ··· ······ ················· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···· ······· ··· ···· ······· ·· ·· ····· ···· ········· ··· ·· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···· ···· ··· ······· ·· ····· ··50 5.2 TRUCTURE FTH O I TYAND M EMB · R I-IIP .............. ...... ...... ....... ..... ... ........ .. .... .. ... .. .. ............. ....... ... ...... .. .. .. ... ... ...... 50

5.2. I Period On e: I 50- 1 70 ................................................. ...... .................................................................................. 52 5.2.2 Period T>110: (18 70-1 90) .............................. ... ....... ...... ....... ........ ...... .... ................................ .............. ......... ....... . 53

5.2.3 Period Thre e: ! 890-/ 9/ 0........................................ ............................................................................................... 55

5.3 WID ER INTEREST IN I RIS! I ARCH/\ I:0LOGY .... .. ... ............ ............. ... .... ... .. .... ...... ... ........ ...... ... .... .. ........ .. .. ............. .. ........... 56 5.4 TH E JOURNAL. OF Tl IE Rov AL S

IETY OF ANT l()lJAR l [S OF I RELAND ... ... .... ................ .......... .. ... ....... ........ ... .............. ....... -7

5. -1. I SuNect Ma ller and 'Transformations' 5.5 TII E RSAI IN PRACT ICE... .......................

..... ......... ........ .......... .......... ........... ................... ........... .... ............... ............. 58

... ... ... .. ... ...... .. .... ...... .... .... ..... ... ... ...... ... ... ...... ..... ......... .. .. ... ............. ... ... ... ....... ... 62

5.5. I Aleetings and Exc urs ions .......... ....... ........ ....... .... ............. ......... ..... .................................. ............... ............. ........ .. 62 5.5 .2 Preservation and 'Protection ' ...................................... ...................... .................. ...... ............ ............... ......... ..... .. 63 5.5 .3 Advancement of Method. lrcha eo logica/ F.xplanati on and Theo1:1•............. ............ ......... ........ .................... ......... 65

6 THE IMP A T OF N I NETEENT H CENTU RY A R HAE OLOG Y 6. 1 TH

·I N ORPORATION. OFT J[E

6 .2 /\R CI IAEOLOGY ...0

P .OPLE ....... .......

O I ET I ES.................................................... 68

................ .. .... ... ......... .. ... ......... ..... ... ........ .... ........... .... ...... .... ...... ... ... ......

68

I TI ES AND TH E POWER OF KN OWLEDGE ... .... .. .... ....... ....... ....... ...... .... .. ........ ... .. ... .... ... ... ....... ... ..... ..... 7 1

6. / .3 The inj luence of 'External Fac tors · on Archaeo lo r;y............ ...... ....... ........ ......... ..... ... ........ ...... .............. ... ...... ...... 7-16.2 Tl IE A CHIEVEM ·NT OF AR

HAEOLOGY

O IETIES...... ....... .... ...... .. .. .............. .... ... ..... ... ...... ..... .... .... ..... .. .. ........ ............... 75

7 IRISH ANT IQUITIE S, A R HAEOLOGY

AND THE MEDIA: l830-l900 .............................................................76

7. 1 I NTRODU TION ..... ... ... ....... .... ... ... .......... ...... .... .. ........ .......... ....... ....... ... .... .. ................... ........ .... .. .. .... .. ... ..... ..... ... .. ..... ..... 76 7 .2 Tl IE PUBLICAT ION · .................................

......... .. .... ... ....... .... .... ..... ..... .. ... ... ... ...... .... ....... .. .. .... .... ....... ..... .. .................

.... ... 77

7.2. J Ne.,l'spapers .................. ..... ........ .......... ............ ..................... ..... ............................................

.... ............ ................ . 77 7.2.2 Penny .Journ als ......... ........... ...... ........................................ ..... ..... .... .......... ................ ..... ...... ...................... ....... .... 78 7.2.3 Maga::ines: Proj essiona/, Trad e and Periodical ..... ............ ............. ....... ........... ........................................... ........ 79 7.2. -1-Sec tari an Literatur e .......... ............................... ...... ........... ....... .......... ............................... ........... ............ .............. 80 7.2.5 Popular Books ..... ............ .. ..... ..... ................ ... .......... ...... .............. ...................... ...... ..... ......... ........... ..... ......... ...... 80 7.2.6 Poet,y .......... .................................................. ..................... ............. ........................................... ....................... ..... 8 1 7 .3 /\NTl() UARIAN Tl IEM ES IN POPULAR PUl3LIC/\T IONS ............ ............... ... ... ......... ...... .... .... .... ... ................. 7.4 ATTIT UDES TO /\R CHA EOLO ,y ...... .. ..... ...............

..... .... ..... .... .. ...... .......... ... ...... .. ..................

... ... ... .. ... .... .. ......

82

.... ... .... .... ....... .... ........ ... .. .. ... 84

7.5 T l J_ ROLE OF AR CH/\ -OLOGY IN SOCIETY ............. .... .............. .. ..... .... .. .... ....... .................. ... ... ........ ... ............ .... .... .. ......... 85 7.6 ENGAG IN, Tl I ~ POPULAT ION IN AR

II /\EOLOGY T l IROLJ ,11TH[ MED IA .............. ...... ...... .... .... ...... ... ... ... ............... ........ ..... 9 1

7 . 7 POPULAR DI SCOUR E AND T l IE I M AGE OF Tl IE PAST ....... ... ...... .... .. ........ .. ........... ... .. ..... ...... .. ....................

8 THE CONSTRUCTION

OF IRELAND' S PAST: THE C REATORS .......................................................................96

8.1 I NTRODU TION ....... ... ...... .... .. .. ........... .......... .............. .. ........ .. ............ ... ................................... 8.2.

........ ...... ..... ...... 92

/\T IONALI ·Ts· ...... ....... .......... ....... ..... ........... .. .... ....... ... .......... ........................

.............. ....... ........ ....... ... 96

.............. .................

8 .3 ARI TOCRACY .... ........ .... ........ .. ... .. ... ...... ............ . ····· ·· ·· ··· ·· ········· ··· ··· ·········· ···· ······················

..... ..... .. ... ....... ..... ..... 96

.......... ... .. ........... .. ..... ..... ...... 98

8 .4 W RITERS. POETS AND ARTISTS .... ......... ········ ··· ······· ···· ···· ·· ···· ·· ··· ······· ··············· ··· ········ .... .... ... ..... .. ... .. .... .. ................ .. .. ..... 98 8 .5 TH -· ·CI !ARM ED IR LE .. .. .. ... ... ... .. ... ........ ....... ..... .. ..................... .. .... .......... .. .... .... ..... ...... ......... .... ........... ..... .... ............. . 99 8 .6 0Tl-lER PROFESS! NS: JOURNALI STS. ARCH ITE 'T • ENG INEERS AND Pl IYSI I/\NS ....... ...................

........ .. .. .... ... ............. .. I 00

8.7 LERGYMEN ·············· ····· ···· ······· ·· ·· ····· ··········· ······· ·· ······ ······· ·· ·· ····· ··· ·· ···· ·· ······· ·· ·· ·· ··· ·· ··········· ······ ·· ······· ······ ·· ··· ·· ····· ···· ··· · I O I 8.8 TII E . ATION BUILDER ·: I RISII AR HA ·OLO ISTS.... .. ... ... .. ...... .. .. ......... ..... .... ....... ..... ..... ... .. ................. ........ ....... ... ... ... 104 8.9 N LUSllN ........ .. .. ... .... .. ...... ..... ..... .. .. ... ... ........ ...... .. ..... ... ...... .. ... ..... .... .. ................... .. ..... ... ...... ...... ..... ........ .. ..... ... .... 107 9 USING AR HAEOLOGY : MU EUM , LAND 9 . 1 I NTRODU TION ······ ·· ····· ·· ········· ·· ·· ·· ·················

APE AN D UNIVERSITIES .................................................... I08

·· ············· ···· ···· ··· ·······················

·· ... .. .... ... .... ................

....... .......... .. ..... .. .. I08

9. /. I Reac hing the Publi c Throu g h Mus eums ..... ..... ............... ... .... ..... ............. ....... ...... ... ....... .... ............. .. .................. I /0 9.2 MON UMENTS AND LANDS

AP · .. ..... .................

.... ...... ... ..... ............ ....... ..... ..... .. ...... .. ... ...... .... .. ....... ....................

............ 112

9.2. I ·Q/de Eng land' ........... ......... ................................ ................................ ................................................................ I I 2 9.2.2 ·This is Ireland' ....... ... ........ ................................ ............ ............ ..... ..... ................... ................. ...... ... .......... ........ I I 2 9.3 AR 9.4

HAEOLOGY IN I RISI I LJNIV ERSITI E .. ... .................

ONCLU. ION·················

.... .. ..... .. ..... .. .. ... .... .. ... ... .. ....... .... ....... .. .. ............... ... ...... ................

115

···· ···· ······· ··· ······· ···· ········ ······ ·· ···· ·· ··· ······· ··· ·· ········ ·········· ·· ·········· ··· ·· ··· ·· ···· ... ... ... ...... ...................

I I8

10 MAINTAINING

CONTROL O F THE IM AGE OF THE PA T ............................................................................1I9

BIBLIOGRAPHY

............................................................................................................................................................123

JOUR NAL , MAGAZINES,

NEWSPAPERS, AN D PERIODICALS ........................................................................ 132

Abstract

Followin g th growth of an aver ion to the culturehistorical approach to archaeological interpr tation in the mid-twenti eth century , most attempt to deve lop new theori s of explanation concentrate on th exc lusion of id ology and di cu sion ha centered on wheth r archaeology is an empirical or a social sci nc . In this the is the view ha b en taken that archa ology alway incorporat es id ology as an e ential compon nt of a fram work for xplanation. Wherea scienti m does not allow the resi tance in discour e neces ary for change , id olo gy permit a forum for debate, which situates archa olo gy in oci ty and confer it social function . Thi re earch explore the dev lopment of archaeology in J9th century Britain and Ireland in historical context. Ireland, a geogra phically w ll-d fin d area with a di tinct histor y, but at that time unwillingly politicall y connected to Britain , i taken a a case tudy. In order to critically analyz the di ciplin 's place in contemporary society, a multidi ciplinary approach i employed which involve the examination of archaeological and non-archaeolo gical di course a well a non di cur ive practice s such a th u e of monuments and the collection of artifact . C rtain k y ideo logical concept of that era uch a romanticism , nationalism, imperi alism and individualism were found to be embedded in the discipline, but it wa particularl y ensitive to change in ociety. Although 19th century archaeological practic e was wholly dependent on the goodwill of those in power , as confidence 111 archaeological methodology increased, so did th potential for th di ciplin to chall ng dominant ideology. As Ireland 's past became a reactive subject with the growth of popular nationalism, archaeological activity became the domain of archaeology oc1et1e who gained control of the archaeolo gical land cape and the collection and displa y of antiquiti s by projectin g their activity as the neutral quest of a past for all to stres paration from an alien power. Despite an incr asingly c ntralized gov rnment and although the populac was littl involved in thi academic activity, by the nd of the nineteenth century archaeology had come to repre ent the emergent Irish nation state as a middle-class activity with multi-cla ss aspirations. By the late 20th and early 2 1st century archaeological activity is also depend ent on financial support which links it to gove rnment which do not pay to have their images undermined . Thi lead archaeologist to ask philo ophical que tions about the objectivity of their activity. Howe ver, although ' the past' is always a construct, the potential for it to be manipulat ed to reinforce , or ju stify even authoritarian states, can be

chall nged. A dynamic and confident archaeology ha an inherent capacity to incorporate id as current in ociety. Preface

Th in piration for thi th si came from an interest in the hi tory of archa ology, particularl y the rea on behind the sudden rise in popularity in the midnineteenth century. At fir t it was my intention to explain this in association with the concurrent ris of certain new ideologies uch as nationali m, romanticism and intere t in th past in pir d by rapid urbanization and indu trialization. Howeve r, it oon became obvious that th re wer many oth r factor at play which had th ffect of giving the disciplin e a function much wider than 111 rely to uphold ' dominant ideology' . In turn thes factor influence archaeological interpretation. The mo t rewa rding result of this res arch has been the realizat ion that archaeologi ts challenge the power structur e to peak 'fo r society' r garding th past. Another feature of the original intention had bee n to try to develop a broader comparative analysi of the rise of archaeology in the eltic fringe, with equal empha is on Ireland, Cornwall , Wales and Scotland. Again it soon b came obviou that it would be n ce ary to recon ider. Such an analy is would hav been far too ambitious; the detail d analy i of some of archaeology in Ireland pre ented in this the that each of those oth r ar a would requir much work and s veral these of their own. The mo t intere ting a pect of thi re earc h wa the way in which archaeologi t , initiall y through archaeology oci tie , achiev d metaphoric al co ntrol of the archaeological land cap and gained acces to, and eventual 'own rship' of, collection of antiquitie . Obviously this wa clo ely connected to the rise of the nation state and illustrated the ability of archaeology to chang according ton e d. Acknowledgements

I would like to expre s my gratitude to th many peopl who have helped either in the inspiration or in th actual production of thi thesi . It could not have bee n done without the unfailin g support of my much valued upervi or, Professor Timothy Champion , who alway made his time and idea available to me with endle pati nee. My adviser , Mr. Arthur ApSimon ha given a great deal of support and guidance. Many oth rs at th University of Southampton, both on the staff and other post-graduate students , have al o been upporti ve over the years. Of pecial mention are Dr. James Steele, Dr. Sian Jone , Profi sor Clive Gamble and Mr. Nick Bradford. I would also like to thank Christine and Chris Saxton and Mu and Pat Lavin for much moral and domestic upport and, in particular , Ellen and Alan

Morri for their unfailingly generous exp nditur of time and hospitality. For th final production of the typescript thanks are due to raham Farrow, Tim ly and particul arly to Ch ryl Lo ffl r. Librarian s, both at th Univ r ity of Alberta and at th Ashmol an, Oxford, also gave valued a i tance. My greate t thanks go to my husband, andy, and my children, Andrea and Hami h without whose patienc thi would have been impo sible. Many p ople and ev nts act d as in piration for the completion of this p r onal goa l. My parents, Dora and the lat Vincent Simpso n, w re always upportive of my education a w re th nun at my chool , Barad ne oil ge, Auckland, N w Zealand , particularl y th late ister Anne O' Rourke. Thi thes is i dedicated to the memory of Imad Akram who e own doctor al the i could not b compl ted.

II

Abbreviations A :Archaeologia Carnbrensis BNFC: Belfast Naturalist' Field Club DCDCAS: Down, Connor and Drornore Church Archit cture Society DI M: Duffy's Irish Catholic Magazine DB: Dublin Builder DPJ: Dublin Penny Journ al DUM: Dublin Univer ity Magaz ine JBFN : Journal of th Belfast Naturalist' s Field Club JRI C: Journal of the Royal Institute of Cornwall JRSAI: Journ al of the Royal Society of Antiqu aries of Ireland KAS: Kilkenny Archa ology Society 18: Irish Build r /AS: Irish Archaeo logy ociety !ES: Jrish Eccl siology ociety /PJ : Irish Penny Journ al TKAS: T ransaction of th Kilkenny Archaeology oc iety MR/A: Memb r of the Royal Irish Acad my PR/A: Proceeding of the Roya l Irish Acad my RIA: Roya l Irish Acad my RDS: Royal Dublin Society RSA/: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland TCD :Trinity Co llege Dublin WAS: Wiltshir Archaeology ociety WM: Wilt shir Magaz ine

Tables and Figures Table I. M mb rship by Occ upation: p5 I. Table 2. Clergy Membership by Denomination: p52 Table 3. Geogra phical Base of Member : p57 Table 4 . Article Provenance: p59 Figure I. Membership of the RSA! 1849- 1908: p5 I

Ill

Introduction Th idea behind this th i i contained in a recent tatement by a historian: ' Historians are in a state of confu sion about what xactly they are up to' (Tosh I 984:pJ 3 l ). Although now well entr nched, the question of motiv for the study of the pa t through archaeology and of oc ial function is quite r cent (see .g. Shennan 1989), and can be directly related to th external influence of the movement by native people for the return of artifact (mostly collected in the 19th c ntur y) and also to th economics of a worldwide r cess ion where any money spent on a non financially produ ctive activity requir ju stification. Similarly, the inter st in politicization of the di cipline followed the furor ove r the exc lu ion of outh African archa ologi ts from the World Archa ology Conference in 1986 in Southampton, which was actually prec ipitated by the refusal of a political body to fund the nterpri se if they participat d ( ee Ucko 1987). Thi s implied that archaeologists actually pr ferred to think of them Iv a non-political. portrayed Britain as a nation in declin e and in n d of a new national ' History' (e.g. To h 1984, Hewison J 987). Furedi ( 1992) conclude that hi tory is closely connected to developments in politi c and ideology but that, although intellectuals do most of the talking and writing, politicians take charge wh n it comes to organization and action (p36). Arch aeologist hav also noted this cone rn for function . Champion ( 199 J) suggests that: It may be no co incidence that an explicitly criti ca l archa ology has deve loped during the lifetime of on of th most dogmatic right-wing governments in recent times, when many areas of publi c and intellectual life hav become more highly politici zed than ever before (p 152). Sha nks and Tilley ( I 992) posed th e questions; 'w ho produc es the past and why? For whom exactly is this production taking place? In what circumstances? Who has the right to speak and expect to have their statements considered as worthy of att ntion and comm ent?' (p263). They also ambitiou ly offered to deve lop a critical sociology of archaeology by examinin g power and discourse, structures of the oligarchic orthodo xy of public pasts while others are mar ginalized and to destroy th ' myth that archa eological practic es and archaeological communiti e are esse ntially benign and apolitical, only having a serious and disinterested intere t in the past' (ibid) . Th e influence of nationalist id ology on archaeology has been often implied in recent y ar . Mangi ( 1989) sugges ts a role for archa ology in nation building in

Papua New Guinea, wh re he saw mas education a esse ntial in fostering a s nse of nationhood and unity amon g div r e peoples. Howeve r, th rot of nation ali m in the developm nt of British archa ology has been questioned. Trigger ( 1989) d nies that nationali sm influenced British archaeolo gy durin g its J 9th century development (p 148) and ugges t archaeology within Britain did not have th overtly political and national overtones of other European countri es such a France, where Napoleon used it to uphold hi empire. In contr ast Champion ( 1988) suggests that by the late 19th ce ntur y British archaeology wa aiding the establi hm ent of nation al identity through the past. Archaeologists have also suggested that all archaeological practice firmly rooted in it pa t (Fowler l 977, Gambl 1993). The disciplin ' gr atest growth, reflect d by methodolo gica l advances , profe sionalization, popular interest and th formation of numerous archaeologica l ocieties, took place between 1830 and 1900 (for br vity termed th Victorian p riod), and was chronologically coincident with the growth of one over-riding political factor of the 19th century, nationalism. Howeve r, the idea of nationalism dominating archaeological interpretation wa too simple a it i impossible to isolat nationalism from other political factor , economi cs , r ligion, and ocial condition s. Obviou ly, if domin ant id ology was thoroughly pervasiv , it would considerably detract both from the scientificity of the disc iplin and its social use. This thesi i intended as a history of archaeology from a contextual point of view a most historie of archaeology, in concentrating on individuals and achievem nt , lack any xamination of the contemporary int II ctual context ( ha mp ion J 988) . Even fewer locate it in it ocial cont xt to include the whole society in which it operate . Michel Foucault, th French hi torian of sci nc , tresse d the inappropriateness of thi for th hi tory of social sciences, placing emphasis on ocietal fabri c rather than individual and their work . Although Hud on ( 198 1) claim s to have written the social history of archaeology and to ' relate the practice of archaeology to the social condition s of the time' , his work is esse ntiall y a series of pott d biographies of influential individuals, and he pays little attention to the context within which the discipline d veloped. Social condition s and politi cal connection s are ju st as important as reiterating biographical details in assess ing the influ ences on the work of archaeologists. This thesis, therefore, stresses the development of archaeology, not from the invention of methodolo gi , but as part of a broad picture of events, philo sophies and ideologies. As uch it is a form of social hi tory achieved by observation of minor and gradual change which become evident as major social changes.

fiction and popular writing co ntribute to the influence of di ciplines on soc iety, chapter seven is an exa mination of some 19th century discourse where th subj ct of archaeology was tr at d to a sess its effi ct on archaeological practice. s ociety in Ireland wa diver , chapt r eight look at the various individuals who help d hap th image of Ireland ' pa t. Chapter nine is devoted to th effects of 19th c ntury Irish archa eolo gical practic on monument a common property, on mu eum collect ions and di play, and the t ac hin g of archaeology in universities. Finally, th co nclu sion about the ' emb dd dn ss' of ideology 111 archa olo gy arising from this the i are presented.

With a vi w toward s ju tifying th cial role of the archaeologi t, the basis for thi id a Ii in the work of thos who uggest that int II ctuals challenge and re ist ideology ( e e.g. Frow 19 6, Toh 1984). Ireland was cho n as a ca e study, severa l factor making it ideal for an exploration of the socia l hi tory of archaeo logy and of the relation hip between ideology and archa ology. Not only were Irish antiquarian tudies and archaeological ocieties already well underway by the 1840' but populi t I aders, particularl y O'Connell , app ared to be invoking ' the past' in th cau e of nationali m, to empha iz Catholic unity and th ir own connection with ' tradition ' . O' Connell and his organization for R pea l of th 1800 Union with Britain held a m ting on the hill of Tar a, site of an anci nt Iri h kingdom , which was att nd d by 250,000 peopl . These activiti are also alleg d to b connected to th pre ent wher th revival of lri h culture instituted by the Anglo- lri h in the late 19th c ntury has been variously blamed by ome modern hi torian s for Ir land' s preoccupation with th pa t (e.g. O ' Faolain 1980), precluding it future, and that d monstration of r istances in antiquity in tituted violence into politic . In addition, antiquarianism is blamed for the ' cult of the per onality ' on which Iri h politic s is based. Cooney ( 1996) links Irish archaeology with the activity of cultural nationalist who aw their task as the r creation of an authentic national identity to transform ociety (p 150). The connection of these ideas to 19th c ntury lri h archa ology is, thu , explor d below. Ther fore the content of ideology in archa ology is seen to be problematic . It ha b en alleged that thi i becau of embedded id ology. Gamble ( 1993), for exampl , uggests that 19th c ntury philo ophi dominat current interpr etation . Thi i particularly evident in r lation to the uropean Iron-Age, where the romance of 'Ce ltici m' continue to dominat int rpr tation . This thesis, thu , form a re-eva luation of th hi tory of archaeology in ord r to establish it role a a cience for the pre ent. Thi hi tory is to be xamined through both archaeological di cour e and discour concerning archeology which together form a social document for the time in which it was written. The first two chapter form a theoretical background. Th first outlin th th ories of Foucault and pr nts the id a that, although contemporar y external factor structure discour , intellectuals do not alway uphold the power structur , but resist and challenge it. The econd presents th variou xt rnal factors which ar thought r lated to the format ion of archaeo logical theory and a brief hi tory of l 9th Engli h archaeology in r lation to them. The third is an introduction to the chapt rs on Ireland and looks particularly at the historical and contemporary factors which hap d th imag of the past in Ireland. Chapters four and five comprise hi tories of the practic of archaeology in 19th century Ireland and chapter six explore the impact of this practice on ociety. As other ourc such as 2

factor in the dev lopm nt of discipline connected to archaeology. xplorin g the d velopment of ' history' in English universiti , Levin ( 1986) notes that historians were from the upper eta ses and were pr dominantl y concerned with political history which perpetuat d th ocial and political mores of th ir own class. Sh argue that this explained the early profess ionalization of history and that its retention by the aristocracy wa therefore deliberate. Howeve r, this limited the use of hi tory whereas archaeology, the tangible, visible hi tory of both ordinary peopl and the lite, had an innate potential to play down class difference . It also gained relatively arly professionalizat ion, but b nefit d the middle classe .

Chapter One

I Discourse, Disciplines, Knowledge and Power: Writing, Meaning and the Influence of Science 1.1 Archaeology and Ideology The development of archaeology in th 19th century wa contemporaneous with major economic , cultural and political changes such a the rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization, the flouri hing of romantici m and the rise of ethnicit y, nationali sm imperiali m, and popular democracy. Th invo lvement of the state in the tudy of the past and archaeology , through the formation of museums and attempts at legislation, and of some members of th establish d inst itution of power such a the church and the aristocracy, might sugge t that th relation ship of archaeology to these broader ocial changes was to upport id ologi imposed from above.

Re-e tabli shing the means to maintain power wa also a factor in the stablishment of social scienc . Said ( J 978) sugge ts that subject pertinent to ' mpi_ re ' , dealing with England' s dest iny, her control ov r subject peoples, and with a gloriou pa t, including anthropology and archaeology , were created ~s ideological support for imperialism and nationali sm-. Eagleton ( 1983) relates the establishm nt of academic Engli h to ' high imperiali m' . Similarl y, but empha izing the pecific role of materialism, Althu r suoo sts that education was the most important of the 00 ' Id ological State Apparatu es ' (ISA' ) invent d to cop with social change and pr vent disorder, thus offering a cau al explanat ion for the instigat ion of formal di ciplines ( ee Macdo nnell 1986:ppl 3- 14). The development of histor y a a teaching ubj ct in the 19th c ntury ha been well documented and an a ociation with nationalism and imp riali m suggest d. Furedi ( l 992) argue that authoriti concern d with maintainin g the established ord r emphasized history educat ion a providing 'v ital moral in piration ' forging a sens of national identity in the face of di integrative trends' (pl 9). At Oxford , hi tory ' beoan and continu ed a an epic illustration of the 0 . qualities required of England ' gove rning elit ', the aim beino to trace ' the Divine purpo in the long 0 . evolutionary proces which had ended in mak111 g England top nation ' (Soffer in Furedi 1992:p64) .

Howev r, an alternativ view an s from th work of Michel Foucault who, using an analytical techniqu e termed ' archaeology 1 examines intell ctual histo ry from th point of view of its plac in ociety and its soc ial function . He propos that social cienc s ge nerally were situated in 19th century capitali m and developed to aid the bourgeo is in control of th workers , but that the production of th discour se, which constitutes the di cipline , i not random , but subject to prior 'con traint ' which r affirms its relation ship to soc iety. It is not denied that archaeology is ' primaril y an id ological di cipline ' (Gathercole 1984). Archaeol?gy ha been shown to be an ideological, ' rhetorical practic e, historicall y situated, part of cont mp~rary ociety and inherently political ' (Shanks and Tilley I 992:pp62,67). Di cipline d veloped according to outside forces, such as political power , and archaeology as it developed in Europe wa ' firml y rooted in a historical context' (Fowler 1977). Lik literatur e it wa one of the di ciplines design d to help the bour geo is in control of the worker . 'L iterature' is an ' ideo logy' designed to unite the middle classes with the aristocracy and to diffu e 'soc ial manner , habits of 'co rrect ' taste and common cultural standard ' , and support ed by a set of ideological institution s, such a periodicals , coffee hou es, and guidebooks to morals and mann ers (Eagleton 1983).

Some author dir ctly r late the formation of nationalist id ology to the activity of intellectuals, alleg ing their primary role ' in generating cultural nationali sm and in providing the ideology ... of political nationali sm. .... in Europe, and analyzing the concepts, myth , symbols and ideology of nationalism ' (Smith 1991:p94) . As images of ancient material culture are promin ent as ' national symbols', the archaeologist appears to occupy a prime place in ' nation -buildin g ' . Howeve r, Smith

Archaeology was an ideal venue for multi-cla ss incorporation on middle-class terms, suitabl e for democratizing a people. Class differ entiation was a

2

Specifically, he directly define 'Orientialism' as 'a kind of intellectual power' (p4 I), 'a created mode of di course with supporting institutions' e tabli hed by European to 'di~ide'. deploy, chematize, tabulate , index, and record everythmg 111 sight' (p86) in order that the co lonizers retain command of Oriental hi tory.

1 A rcha eologv wa the "sea rch for origins in the matter of concepts and knowledges , leading to historical epistemology' (Fo ucault [ 1966 } from Le Robert Dictionnaire de la Langue Francai e 1985 ).

3

a dominant cla , and is uperimpo ed to ma k ocial in qualit y, the result of cap italism. G iven th pe simism of this application to archaeo logy for it ev r to particip ate in ocial tran formation, it is critica l to r exa mine th relationship of the di cipline to power. An alternative view of ideology has it being internalized by individuals at all lev Is of soci ty in relation to sect ional int rest. Accepta nc that there is no single id ology oth r than th ' fictional' tandard defined by the ruling cla sis more appropr iate.

( 1991) also note that th wid r intellige ntsia and profi ional wer not always r spon ible for th transm1s 1011 and dissemination of the idea and creations of intellectuals . For archaeology , this place the em phasis on the presentation of archaeo logical evide nce. However , b for concluding that archaeologist always uphold the power tructur e, th ir relation ship to domin ant ideology requires discu ion. Although Said ' s ( 1993) study ee m a forceful indictm ent of intellectuals , as he claim to have illu trat d the dependence of apparentl y ' detach ed and apolitical cultural discipline into a quit sordid history of imp riali t ideology and co lonialist practice ' (p4 7), thes ideas a ume that history i alway th handmaid of authority (P lumb 1969), and that the past alway functions as dominant ideology-\ Thi can be challenged by demonstration that archaeolo gy i a practic which takes its cues from the present. It has b en alleged that a cho lar/coloni ts, disint rred 'fo rgo tten language , hi tori s, race , and cultures ' ( aid I 978:p40) , they set the rule of what was to be known , includin g of th past, uperimpo ing an artificial intellectual authorit y (pp95, 97), which made subject people ' pa ive obj cts of study', creating discourse which controlled them in the pre ent. However , the di ciplines wer al o ffective in trum nt for formation and accumulation of knowl edge ( ee Foucault in Gordon I 980:p245). Thu , middl e class , capitalist id ologi s and organization provid d the nece ary structur for disciplin d velopment. In turn, however, th discipline wer dynamic structur e which adapted to ociety' changing n eds.

Marxist view also favor di course a divisive , includin g only those who under tand it, and excludin g those who do not (e.g. Althusser and P cheux). Frow ( 1986) notes that th class sy tern limit acce s to ' elaborated cod (B rnst in in Frow I986:p75) . Thus , for arc haeo logy the inclu ion of the general population in activ ity would have been difficult , e pecially ince, at first glanc , th dev lopm nt of a previously eel ctic ' hobby ' inter st into a forma l discipline parated more p op l than it included. Howe er, oucault propo es a place for th people ; mpha izing olidarity betw en th soc ial class , h argu that all cla e are incorporated in di ciplin s. In addition , Marxi t vi ws do not allow for the idea of re i tance s in discourse, nor for challenge of the state, but an alternative argument suggest that ubordinat e cla es do not simply accept an externally imposed ' dominant ideology ; re istanc is written into th tructure of all discour e and read r react to th authority of a t xt by eith r reproducing or conte ting it (Frow l 9 6:p228). Thus: ' Both ideology and resi tanc are u es of di cour ' and 'ev ry di cour e i ... a jud gment about it relation to dominant form of power' (ibid:pp62,63). R i tanc promote change, challenges th status quo, and re-appropriate ideo logy for count r-heg monic purpo es. Strat gie used for co he ion ar a fi Id of 'co nflict ' liable to re-utili zat ion from 'a bov 'a nd from ' bel w' (Gordon 1980:p255-6). Ju ta 19th century lit ratur provid d a potent antidote to political bigotry and ideological extremism' (Eag leton I983:p25) , for archaeology, 19th ce ntury practic 111 e tablishment institution neutrali zed var iou int rest group , which achieved a similar function of social transformation.

Firstly , ther fore, we n d to di pense with materialist view of the function of intellectual and theories of di course which sugge t that it is part of the ideo logical spher from which writ rs can n ver get outside. For Pecheux , discour e served a a weapon of the clas struggl and wa linked to the production of knowl dge (see Macdonn II I986:pp25-60). It th refore acts as a dir ct or indir ct in trum nt of subjection (ibid:p 110). If t xt (di scour ) alway refl ct the condition of their production and feed back to furth r influence th m, creating a constant upport for capitalism, there would always b a problem with the di cour of writt n histor y, as only those in power would be r pre ented.

1.2 Discourse as Social Production In ord r to appreciate thi alternativ view of archaeology as having a symbiotic relation hip to ideology and to avoid the assumption that it is always instituted from above, it i critical to compr hend the releva nt points about the natur and formation of ' discourse ' itself a a tructured body, and in particular the mechanism which und rlie its co ntrol. Archaeo logi ts are involved in the consumption of th pa t, producin g 'tex t ' . Archa ology is ' fundamentally expressiv ; it depend on a relation with an audience ' (Shanks and Tilley 1992:pl 7) and i practice and

As intellectual generally produc e texts, acceptance of the Marxist interpretation would be to admit that their writin g always uphold the stat . In Marxist t rms ' ideolo gy' int grate soc ial formation , secures the reproduction of th relation of produ ction ( Frow I 986:p62) and acceptance of th heg monic position of 3

Dominant ideol gy represents sectional interests a universal , denie contradictions , and naturalizes the pres nt (Gidden 1979) on behalfof the power strategy. 4

past have in making intelligibl the objective conditions of our social pre ent (Gordon I 980:p233 ). Nondi cursive practic s change b caus of the small, as well a the larger, economic, social , political and ideological factor , all of which constituted th power structure of society. Change was du to a complex , diffuse variety of micro-factors (a ' rnicrophy sic ' of power: Gutting I 989;p27 I).

reception , profe sional and public. Therefore , th derivation of the di cours i relevant to the relation hip of archaeology to ideology. Despit the existence of work on discour e and disciplin e , little attention ha b en paid to archa ological discour e as a con tituent part of archaeology , although after the failure of scientific ' new archa ology', with its denial of social and political factor , orne author hav r verted to th idea of repr sentation as crucial to maintainin g credibility ( hank and Tilley 1992, Hodder 1986).

Foucault displac s the intluenc of individual author by rnphasizing th ir group function. Individuals conform unwittin gly to a po ition already defined by the rul s of th r levant discour se. Only certain statement are acceptable. Significantly , a it suggests the mechanism by which intellectual received 'a uthority ' from ociety to mak the stat ments, h forrnulat s the idea of the 'a rchiv ' as th complex of all the di cursive formations existing in a giv n soci ty, creating a ' law of what could b said'. Halliday reaffirm th structured nature of discour e and further suggest that 'discour e genre ' are sy t rn of rul s which also gov rn the production , tran srni sion, and reception of 'a ppropriate ' meanin g by 'appro priat ' us rs in 'appropriate ' forms in particular socia l contexts and are normati ve sy terns sp cifying what can and cannot b said (in Frow 19 6:p68-69).

Foucault stresses dependence on rule for its formation in his concept of discourse analysi . Hi analytical method emphasize that the rnobile system of r lationships and syntheses between di cours s prov id d 'co nditions of possibility ', defined as a myriad of ' micro-factor ' for the formation of forms of knowledg . Thus, disciplines 4 aris out of conditions already pres nt. He vi ws knowled ge as th outcome of linguistic practice s (Gutting 1989:p256). Archaeologica l analy is, in Foucault 's en e, de cribe relations that define th ti Id in which varied statern nt have various meanin g and contain the conditions that defin the discur siv spac . In his hi tory of medicine , The Birth of the Clinic ( 1963), he relate ' the tran formation of a field of knowledge ... to it cont xt' and analyz 'a multiplicit y of political , ocial, institutional , technical and theoretical condition of possibility, r constructing a h terog neou syst rn of relations and effects' (Gordon I980:p243). In this work he suggests a framework for the contextual history of disciplines in emphasizing that a whole range of factors contribute toward discipline growth. This reaffirm that it would be impossible to isolate ju tone or two ideologies such as nationalism or rornantici m for a study of archaeology. Foucault emphasize the cognitive authority of the scientist rather than the influence of social factor on th development of sci ntific theories (Gutting I 989:p257). He sugge ts that external factors were inherent in di cipline development rather than causativ . To illu trate that discipline act within society, he sugge ts that their whol history, their ' institutions' as w II as the contribution of all participant s, hould be examined 5.

Although Foucault acknowledge that initially the new cienc s were technologies for governa nc of th p ople and believ s discour e wa a political commodity linked to the operation of soc ial power (Foucault in Gordon I 980:p245) , paradoxically he views this product of power a con tructi ve in er ating an atmosphere conducive to th development of disciplin s. Discourse and knowledg are defin d by the relation hip to power, but having d rnonstrated that disciplin s develop d from wider di cursive formations and, ther fore, from within soc iety, Foucault could suggest that knowledge had a ymbiotic rather than a repr ssive r lationship to power. This particular concept i important to our und rstandin g of the relation hip of archaeologists to dominant ideo logy. Th idea of syrnbiosi betwe n knowled g and power illustrate the mechani sm wher by disciplin s gained authority out ide seemingly narrow confine and became part of an ongoing social proce . The group function of authors in validating know! dg i ernpha ized. As th discours e which soci ty accepts usually emanate from the releva nt profession or acceptable publications wh re writers obey the law of what could be aid, knowledge is produced collectively ' by interacting social groups evaluating what is to count as knowledge communally' (Shanks and Tilley I992:p66). Con traints on archaeological discour e demonstrate th close relationship of the disciplin to society.

In Discip line and Punish ( 1977) Foucault adopts a historical approach , termed genea logy, to illu trate th tie between knowled ge and power. Applied to both discursive and non-discur ive •practices 6 , genealogy explores the political relevance that enquiries into our 4

Di ciplines are defined a groups of statement ' which were accepted, in titutionalized , transmitted and sometimes taught as ciences' (in Gutting I 980:p250). 5 A an example, he studied psychiatry from the a pect of patient as well a doctor s, both of whom h postulated were acting in a socia l connection. 6 These include in titution , political events, economic practices and processes (Gutting I 989:p243 ).

Rather than discour e controlling society as in the Marxist view, society controls discour e, and the

5

connectio ns b tween the sc iences and the political , conomic and religious ideo logie of the era were inev itabl (ibid). Sciences were not determined by ocial caus s, but social factors opened up new fields for the mapping of scientific objects.

constant fi edback of information is supplement ed by the myriad of external factor and ideas in ociety. Th lower cla se also po s s ' unqualifi ed knowl dge ' (Foucault in Gordon:p83) which is demon strat d in genea logie as 'the union of rudite knowledge and local 111mories', linked to the institution and functionin g of an orga nized scientific discours within a society (Foucault in Gordon I980:pp83 ,84 ).

To exp lain the r lationship between the dev lopment of di cour e and discipline , Foucault postulates that the condition nece sary for knowledge to be formaliz d ar provided by discur iv formations , but extended (Fo ucault, in Gordon 1980 :p 151) by 'fict ion, reflexion , narrati ve accounts, institutional regulation , and political decision ' as well a scie ntific demonstration (quoted in Guttin g l 989:p25 2).

1.3 Intellectuals and Knowledge The rol of intellectuals in generating knowledge i crucial to under tandin g the relation hip between archa ologists and dominant ideology. Foucault develop a view co nting nt on int llectual having a benign role for the co mmon good. This v1 w was dependent on th pre1111s that power was consubstantial with th development of forces of production (Foucault in Gordon 1980:p 159), act ing as a controllin g fore for a network which produced forms of knowl edge and discour e. This power is more pervasive than state and tate apparatu , as the upper and lower elements of the hierarch y tood in a mutuall y supportiv e relationship (ibid:p 158). Seemingly, it works by incorporatin g peopl voluntarily, but intellectuals made or changed the rules of conformity.

1.4 Institutions and Knowledge Foucault r lates the development of di cipline to ociety by exploring the relation between discur iv and ' non-di cursive ' realms. ' Institutions', such as the archa ology societies of the 19th century, w re th foundation for increa e of knowl edge rather than increa ed knowledge I ading to th founding of institution s. Initiative, organization and control are not located only in tate apparatuses uch a museum , but also in 'charitable and benevolent associations .... which operated somewhat lik organs of surveillance of one cla s over another' (Foucault in Gordon 1980:p I 67). Power, or 'a uthorit y' , came from all kinds of institution s uch as ' the parliamentary y tern, . .. publi hing, the great exhibitions, th university ' (ibid:p207). L arned soc1et1e , academi s, and stati tics ocieties organized and defined a 'g lobal, quantifiable knowled g '. imilarly, Frow ( 1986) argu s that 'the religious, scientific , ... everyday, literary, legal, philo ophical , (and) magical' all perform different function s within the di cour e in relation to the distribution of ocial power (p67). Th formation of archaeology societie s added a middle cla s element to how knowledge of th past was acquir d and projected which r quire analysi .

Foucault al o con iders the significance of who discourse erve (Gordon 1980:p 115), and thus their social function . Comparing different period in order to detect transformations , he postulated that the role of intellectuals changed profoundl y with capitali 111and wa crucial to ocial tran formation as power wa xercised through social production and social s rvice (Foucault in Gordon 1980:p16I) . Th dev lopm nt of the new sci nces mad intellectual important a they functioned as th con cienc of all, the figure of a ' univer ality ' embodied in the prol tariat ( ibid:pp 128, 125). Th y are the writ rs and b ar r of valu s, hi torically derived from the ' man of ju tice ', who counter-po sed to power and to abuses of justice. Therefore , mphasis was placed on the social influence of ci nti ts. For Foucault science is truth and intellectual s decided what was true. Through political and economic apparatu ses of education and information , such as universities and the media, ' truth ' wa the object of 'i mmense diffusion and consumption ' and 'the issue of a whole politic al debate and soc ial confrontation (ideological struggl s)' (Foucault in Gordon 1980:ppl 32,131). cience is made to function as truth which 1s linked to power which ' in titutionalizes, profes ionalize and rewards its pur uit ' (ibid:p93).

1.5 Non-discursive Practices Non-di cursive practic es for maintatntng the social order may al o be related to non-r pres ive power in providing the m chanism to 'ga in acce s to the bodie of individual , to their act , attitudes and modes of everyday behaviour ' (Foucault in Gordon 1980:p 125) required by industriali zation . Jn The Order o.f Things Foucault suggests that the middl classe maintain d control over the worker by use of the 'po litics of spac ' d scribed as an eco nomico-political form adopted from the idea of th English philo opher Bentham (1748- 1832) for 't he di cipline of the many by the few ' . Acco rding to Foucault, Bentham ' technolog y7 solved the problem of urveillance and

Foucault is mainly concerned with the place of di ciplines in society and believes that truth, sc ience, and power were intertwined with ideology. Although class did not use science for its purpo s, th re was a common origin for the science and the ideo logy (Guttin g I 989:p258). Accord ingly, similaritie and

7

6

Bentham' 'Panopt icon' was a ring- haped perimeter

administration of work rs for the middl cla es and wa al o evident in changing tyle of architecture. In the I 820 ' s mechani ms n ces ary to ustain a dominant cla s appeared , pro viding uch 'conv niences ' as housin g and avings bank s, around which was formed a di course of philanthrop y and the moralization of the working class.

and truth s, was manifest in a n w interest in ruin and wild and mountainou s countryside (Foucault in Gordon 1980:pp 155, I53 ). Archaeology , as a mean of controlling p ople in space , i thu s rel vant to th see mingly innocent activity of archaeology ocietie . Nineteenth century museums wer assumed to have a social function to promote ' tast ' and morali ze the working classes. Architecture was consciously viewed as participatin g in maintenanc e of th ocial order (e.g. Morri s). The architectural style of I 9th century mus urns, which almost invariably r sembled gov rnment buildin g , seats of power, es pecially in colonial settin gs8 , formed a harp contra t to workers' houses . In the I 9th c ntury gra nd buildin gs were accepted as the norm for exhibition of the mat rial past, wherea the current use of folk and open-air museums and hands-on and ensory exhibition s a ll suggest the possibility of other mode of di play; twentiet h century mu eum ar meant to illustrate ega litariani sm wherea s Victorian museums exhibit d state power, pro viding a place for the working clas s to pend their leis ure, but und r a watchful eye.

Th e need to control spac also contributes to disciplin e formation. In the Birth of th_

The society wa obviously connected to others within Ireland, reflectin g both it status as a cultural institution and the disciplin es with which it had common bu iness for exampl e the Natural History Society of Dublin and the Royal Geolo gical Society of Ireland. On important conn cted group wer archit ect ; the periodical intended for them , the Irish Build er was donated by its publisher ( TKA S Vol.l: J rd ser). Thi indicates a twoway influenc e a members wer exposed to diver e publication s in the library. In 1849, only thr e memb rs were al o members of the RJA, but by 1874 there were 70 ( J 0% ) including 3 of its Vice President and th President, William Stok s. Increased association with th more ancient institution reflects the increased statu s of the society within the Irish intellectual world. Nineteen members (5 Fellows) were Fellows of the Society of Antiquari es of London (FSA)

Only one member of the upper echelons contribut d in th early year 144 • The most significant contributor s in terms of their status a archaeologist were O ' Donova n and Chari s Grave , not yet members, but whos contribution s added credibility to the journ al. Wind ele 142

Moore, Prim, Grave and ooke Daniel Byrne, John Windele, ichola O'Kearney, Robert Cane (MD., MRC I), Richard Hitchcock, J C Tuomey, Rev John Browne (LLD. ), John O'Donovan (LL D.), Rev. harle Graves (DD), Mr. John Dunne, John P Prenderga t (Barri terat Law), Rev. Edward Newenham Hoare (AM) Dean of Waterford, James G Robertson, Rev. Jame Mease (AM), and O'Daly 144 Hoare' 'Description of an Ancient Crypt beneath the Deanery House' 143

14 1

Later, the Anthropolo gical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the ambrid ge Antiquarian Society, the Oxford Architectural Society, the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the Royal In titute of Cornwall, and the ociety of Antiqu aries of cotland were included.

57

also beca me a significant force in Irish archa ology. The two most productiv e member were James Grav s and Prim 1-' ~.

(vo lum I, third erie ) concentration on ecc lesiastical and hi tori ca l matter with a continuing d er ase in prehi toric wa still evid nt. (Th major article can be divided into five ection : Ogham and Monastic ( I 0); Prehistoric (3 ), Family History (2), Medieval (I), and Manuscript ( I ).) In I 874 a large number of the articles and mo t of th notes were on eccle iastical subject . Interestingly, althou gh the increase in the ecclesia tical was associated chronologically with incr ased contribution by members of the Catholic clergy, there was no sugge tion that the clergy of ith r ect monopolized the ecc l sia tical studies.

On notable feature was th breadth of archaeological intere t of contributor s. Prim's various contribution s encompa ssed Giant's Graves, the build ers of the Wall of Kilkenny, an Ancient Flemi h Co lony in Kilkenny, and Sedilia in Irish Churches. Jam es Graves' contributions included 'A ncient Street Architectur in Kilkenny,' 'A ncient Corporation By-Laws ' , 'Cro mleac', and 'Th Ancient Tribe and Territories of Ossory'. Notably all were connected with the locality. Later Wakeman co ntributed many artic le , which ranged over a broad range of inter sts, such as ecc lesiastical, Ogham, cra nnogs and stone monum nts.

Then in the I 880's and 90' , under new editorship, th re wa r newed intere t in prehi tory and a correspondin g decr eas in history, which may also have been r lat d to the influence of Wakeman who wrote many of the articles. In 1893 the content w re again nearly all ecc les ia tical. There wa no int rnal r ason for this abr upt narrowing of inter st, but the revival which ncoura ged a spirit of unity was embodied in a neutral 'ecc le iology'. In sharp contra t, although fortificat ions, particularl y Norman castles and bridges, were mentioned in the ' Hint and Querie ', article on them were not often publi sh d, particularl y in the early days of the ociet y, an absence which may be attr ibuted to the politically sensitive nature of the evid nc of conquest. Th ere were al o many articles on the documentary history of the e tates encumbered by the ca ties , th refore bowing deferenc e to their owners.

Although only around 5%, of members co ntributed, it is evide nt from the way the journal wa co mpiled by a committee that the publication act ually r fleeted th majorit y opinion of m mb rs. Although it was particularl y noticeable that only a few of the nobility pub Ii hed 146, th ' ilent' participation of this class, together with the participation of clergymen and archaeologist , was enough to ensur that th di course was ace ptable in order that it status as an establishment in titution be maintain ed. 5.4.1 Subject Matter and 'Transformations'

As this thesis i concerned with ideology and some anc ient material culture was a soc iat d with national imagery such as crosses , round towers and C ltic ornament , it is important to assess what wa studied or, alternatively, ignored and wheth r there were any changing patterns which may indicat e sympath y towards mergent nat ionality. There w re 60 articles with titles in th first three years. They w re approx imat ly equally divid ed for ubj ct, but in J850 some form rly cla sifi d by th ed itor as Primaeval (e.g. Ogham inscription s) became ' Undecided ' ( ee tabl 4). The brief reign of this cate gory obviously indicat d som dis ent or temporary lack of confid nee among t th editors as there was sti II no clear consen us either on a chronology for prehi tory or on dating for ear ly Christian items. Prima va l included Giants graves, rath , 'S ubterraneous chamber ', cromleac , ring money, Ogham and folklore, whil M dieval included ca ties, eel sia tical, numismatic s and manuscript s.

The ecc les iastical subjects themselve w re varied, but most were local to Kilkenn y. t. Canice's was particularly well studied 147 • Ogham inscriptions , ancient buildin gs such as abb ys and the church and churchyard w re all mention d in the ' Hint and Querie ' and obviously formed an important asp ct of study. All memb rs s em d to be interest d in vi iting, reading about and tudyin g th se antiq u1t1e . Pre ervat ion, a major function of the ociety, applied particularly to ecc lesiast ical monument s (see below), perhap s refl ctin g the n ed to maintain socia l tability. There was often outrage expre sed as to the treatment of the monum ent , for exa mple in 1856 on th destruction of St. Mary' , Clonmel. The_ society member , a ' pol icemen ' before gov mm ent protection , in such cas s tried to garner as much information as possible 148 •

However , despite continuity of th ed itor , the pattern began to change, sugg sting the influ ence of external factors. In 1856-7 most artic les conce rned history, manuscript s and ecc lesiastical subject . In 1860 pre hi tory had alI but di appeared. By I 868-69 147

For examp le Prim's' ugge tion for the proper Arrangement and Preservation of the Anci nt Monument in t. an ice's Cat hedra l' ( TKAS: Vo l.l;p2 I 7) 148 ln this case photographs taken before the demolition were purcha ed for the Library.

145

In the fir t 3 year Prim contr ibut d IO artic les and Grave 11. Graves contributed 4 7 article in total. 146 There were ome exceptions uch as th third and fourth EarlsofDu nraven( eeJ RSAI:Vo l.J11;4th er).

58

Table 4. Article Provenance Year

Primaeval

Medieval

1849

7

9

1850

3

11

185 1

13

12

Period lJndecided

5

Lough Gur were described (JR Ill Yol.l:5th er;pvi). Thi suggest that ther had been a barrier to pr historic stud y in the outh, where sites abound, perhap induced by factors which wer no longer in place, uch a relaxation of the 'co nstraint s' on 'primiti vism' influenc d by the revival.

In the late I 870 ' s and 80' cclesiastical interest concentrated on emphasizing the antiquity of Christianit y in Ireland, r fleeting a view which could be held equall y by both ection of the community that Ir land had a p cial place in the hi tory of Christianit y for its contribution to learning and t nacity of faith during the dark age . The Voyage of t. Brendan, the mar iner Saint, wa often treated a part of the incr a ing popul arity of the e subject . Often the articles were based on Irish ' myth ' and lege nd. On Prot stant clergyman , John Francis Sh arman, offered a pr cisely dated treatise on St. Patrick, the patron aint of Catholic Ireland which demon trated hi importanc e to both group in illu trating the priority of Irish Christianit y ( 1876). However, ' nationality' ometimes overtook ob rvation. Shearman, although he pec ifically stated that hi history began in the hero ic or semi-mythical period of anci nt history and wa ubject to change throu gh ' succ ssive generation ' , wa specific a to date and places, without refer nee to material culture.

It is al o likely that the lack of pace giv n to the subject in the journal r fleets that they could not b consid r d distinctively Irish. In contra t th crannog maintain ed continuous popularit y, partly b cau e of th direct relation hip of the Irish monum nts to the lake dwellings b ing written about in Europe. By the I 880's 180 had been recogniz d (JRSAI Yol.Y:4th ser). There was constant discussion as to their periodization owing to the mix of artifact found within them. Wild and Wakeman were particularly intere t d, and as mention d, factor such a individual inter st al o greatl y influenced the ociety ' conduct. Good communication with the Board of Work , who draina ge work brought many to light, for example th site at Lagore in the 1840' , also increased opportunity for th ir study. Many of the ociety' ' interest ' originated from ' chanc ' discov ry or coop ration with other disciplines.

Stone monument were noted to 'fo rm th sur t r cord of th primitiv race of Ireland' ( TKAS Yol.l:pl0I). The ' Hints and Queri ' offered guidelines to the study of acceptable subject s 149 . However, cov rage of prehistoric subject , despit e the abundance of the se monument s in the landscape, was inconsistent, confirming the influence of 'ex ternal factors ' . The Anglo-Irish would not want to draw attention to a history which did not include them , while Catholic , who al o did not wish to antagonize Cullen, were mor interested in ecclesiology which had practical importanc . Ther may al o have been a sensitivity of both groups toward drawing attention to a subject where material demonstration of the ' rudeness ' of the people might counteract unity . Reference s which emphasized any lack of civilization in the ancient Irish were few.

A distinct difference in styl of wnt111 g when the subject wa prehistor y also suggests that it was thought of differently. ' Popular ' or ' national ' ubject induced a popul ar style of writing, giving it a romantic unrealit y. One archaeologist described the art thus: ' The composition progresses like a triumphant strain of music , stopped and spaced a only the mind of a great master of de ign could contriv ' (Wak man I 884:p383). Writers w re particularly inspired to emotion by monuments. The romantic, almost poetic, style was employed mo t often in regard to those of unknown origin such as megalithic tombs who size gave vent to use of imagination as to their constructors. Of the 'Giant Bed' near Killatulla gh, Stanley ( 1870) stat d that at noon he aw ' the shadow of the first stone fall against the second, and the second against the third ,' which was one of his ' first peeps into the prehistoric' (p29) .

In 1892, durin g a period of increased intere st in prehistory, it was stated that the ' northern members' were for most in prehistoric study, as worked flints from Belfast Lough, early j et bead and stones from

As only tho builder whose identity was Io t in the mists of time could be u ed to emphasize unity, thi style of writing was seldom used when the builder

149

Raths, subterranean chambers, sepulchral mounds, stones a 'cromleac ' ingle tanding stone or circles, and ancient buildings.

59

were made in Ireland, but did not believ the gold itself was native, sugge ting that Roman Britain was plundered for coin which w re melted down to mak them. H employ d documents such as The Book o.f l einster, which he noted had mentioned 'the torque of gold fro m foreign lands', to qualify his argument that ther was littl gold in Ireland , except for a ' mall amount' in Wicklow which was ' unknown ' until a hundr d yea r ago 15 1• Howeve r, as archaeologica l method beca m more intellect ually acceptable, mater ial ob ervat ion rep laced both documents and emotion.

wer known to be lri h. Jn contra t, ther fore, emotion was inappropri ate for places with an added politica l connect ion whos de cripti on was u ually left to writer in new papers uch a The Nation (see chapter 7). Th re w re suggestion s that this avoidance of political subject in th discourse of thi society wa delib rate. Jame Grav e ( 1849-5 1a), refi 1-rin g to the town of Bannow , r puted by I gend to be the Irish Herculaneum, and the pot on which the English first set foot , talked about antiqu aries and historians of a ' certain class ' who xagge rat (p 187). He argued that there wa no material ev id nee for these events. Thi appear to illu trate that un ubstantiated association of 'pop ular hi tory' wit h archaeo logy site was not appr ec iated by archaeolo gi t . Ther were few article on the ancie nt monument which had been u ed for the pro motion of pop ular ' nationality' such as Tara betw een the I 840 's and I 890 ' s 150. Then improved methodo logy gave arch aeologists profe s ional conftdenc for exp lanat ion u ing ob rvation rather than the emotion of I ge nd. W tropp and Father Murph y, for example, co mbined document and ft Id tud y for an article on T ara ( 1894 ).

One important development, which occurr d in Ireland at a similar time to the Briti h Isles, was th increa in importanc of non-intrinsica lly valuable items to archaeolo gy; in 1862 ' Mr. Carroll,' d cribing a ' Sepulchral fictil Vessel', sa id that such 'ancient remain of Celtic Art ..... tend to throw a light on the dome tic history of the ancient inhabitants of Ir land ' (p13). In 1884 Wakeman sugg ted that the orname nt on the ston e of a chamber at C lov r Hill, Co. Sligo, was identica l to that on bronz sheath found at Lisnacroghera and provided the ' missing link ' between ' an advanced bronze culture and a style now rath r vaguely ca lled "Celtic'" (p380). He u d the evidence to ugges t that the hon Age began earli r than previously thought. De cribin g the art as ' purely and entirely lri h', he went on to say that:

By the l 890 ' s the notable preference for distincti vely lri h ubj ects indicat the influence of the revival on the ociet y. This wa mo st obvious in the increased space giv n to Irish art wh r 'Ce ltic ' ornament was widely con idered of ' nation al' importance (se heehy 1980) . Reference to ancient 'C ltic Art ' usually related to gold it ms who e intrinsic value, beauty of workman ship, and relative abundance mad them inherently interesting. Th er was con tant di cu sion a to the identity of th manu facturer , with a fi w writer trying to d ny an Jri h ori gin, but th re was little direct acrimon y over diffi rences of opinion, which illustrates th mod eration on uch matter shown in th ociety.

Seeing then that upon a large numb r of our earlie t stone and even bone r mains we possess are the lements of an art, which for ages wa world famous, why should we se k to draw from Byzantium or el ewhere the origin of our early cros or church decoration s? We have them all, or nearly all, upon megalithic structures; and, I repeat, upon bone and bronz antiquiti s which are beyond the range of W tern hi tory: older than Byzantiun itself as a seat of Roman art (p383 ).

Mo t wer keen to attribut them to the lri h, which sugges ts that memb rs wer conscious of archaeology as a di sc ipline which could re tor national dignity. In 1856 Capt ain Hoare, of the North Cork Rifles, who had a large coll ction of go ld objects, declared that it would be u eful to prove that the items were of native origin, a om e a sert that they were ' merely importations' (pp361- 2) . In 1883 Day ' s pap r on som gold torque s found in Don gal refe rred to everal of the Irish Annals includin g th Annals of the Four Masters for th origin of the gold and noted that the Irish Geolog ical Society atte t d to gold mine in Wicklo w, leav ing no doubt that thes e ' peculiarly Ce ltic ornament of twist d gold are mad from metal nat ive to the soil of Ireland ' (pp 182-5).

Thus, Irish art and archaeology became a m ans by which memb r of th soci ty could contribut e to placing Irish art in the scheme of Europ an pr history as Wakeman laid claim to it for ' Ireland' . In additio n, when Ireland ' prehistory was mbrac d for th revival, archaeology was well placed to substantiate the ideals of ancient Irish civilization .

Sometime s th mixture of ources u ed led to considerab l confusion. William Frazer ( 1896 and 1897) had no prob lem with accepting that the item

A the 1890 ' progre sed the derivation of th art itse lf became mor important; as th ne d to stre ' lrishn ss ' increased, society member jump d to thi chall nge . Betwe n 1894 and 1896 there was a eries entitled ' Origins of Prehistoric Orname nt in Ir land' by George Coffey. In Part V1l1 ( I 896:p34-69) he suggested the pre ence of a significant amber-go ld trading network b tween Scandinavia and Ireland in the Bronze Age. H detected two stages in Bronze Age spiral ornament,

150

15 1

There were about a dozen entrie , mostly concerning notes rather than article , in the 1849 - 1889 Index for the JRSAI.

Arm trong ( 1920) uggest that the Jrish gold work was often given a later date because of the literary source . 60

the simpl form found at Dowth and a mor advanced form at New-Grang , which he sugg sted was introduc d and the pr cursor of th Late Celtic style. To explain the fact that thes spiral ornam nts did not appear on Bronze Ag Irish metal work he sugg sted that the ' kill in metalwork fell far short in Ireland' , but was 'ea y to incis on stone '. In Part VI he argued that arly continental influence in Ireland could be traced to trade with Ireland and Britain simultaneously rather than diffusion to Ireland from Britain. He bas d his argument on everal factor including the cla sical writers , but u ed his conclu ions to blame the lack of reco gnition of the primac y of lrish design by European worker such as Lubbock on ' national prejudice ' (1895:p19).

intellectuals which implies he considered this journal to have a wider forum. Occa ionally articles also promoted the pr cedence of Celtic habitation , which accord with th desire to str ss Ir land ' s early ci vi Iization 152• ' Resistances' to dominant ideology wer thu evident. Another example followed the major blow Irish folklore had received from the gove rnment when the Ordnance Survey wa canceled in the 1840' which also implied that the ubject was dangero us to peac . Howev r, thi society did not shrink from it stud y; there were three lengthy article in 1849, includin g O'Donovan 'O n the Tradition s of the Co unty of Kilkenny ' . As there was no soc iety pecificall y devoted to it until 1927 (Th Iri h Folklore Commission), the journal contained many article on the ubject. This uggest that intell ctual interest was likely to pr vail over gove rnment antipathy as the subject was extrem ly popular both within and out ide Ir land.

In direct contrast to the opinion xpres d in the rest of Britain , and in som Irish periodicals ( e chapter 7), of the Irish a savages , members often implicitly supported lri h civilization . Thi was vident from the inception of the society, for xample in 1860 it was noted that after English settlement, 't he dispo s ssed Irish ... were scattered among all people from on end of the earth to the other, carrying with them into foreign land s their enduring hostility ' (Prenderga t 1860). In 1874 Wakeman defended the origin of Irish art against a writer who had said that: 'T here was little reason for believing that the Ce ltic race in the far west was ever distin guished by anything approaching a refin d taste in art' (pl56). Two other (Hodder and Westropp) had said that the crozier found at Ca hel and described a a 'wo nderful specimen' of Irish art by Petrie was 'undoubtedly foreign'.

The Druids rec ived much attention in other part of Ce ltic Britain, particularl y Wal s, owing to the influence of Morgan (see Hobsbawm 1983) . How ver, as a means of id ntifying ' lrishness ' , or of r lating Ireland to a wider Celtic community , these ancient prie ts received little att ntion in this journal. The 1849-89 index wa examined for refer nee to Druid s. There were 14 entries, cone ming uch topic s a 'w hen established in Ireland' (Vol.X: p30 I) , ' Druidical Use of Ogham Writing' (Vol.IV: p I 98), and ' Druidism in Ireland' (Vol.V1ll: p309) , and a ries written by Shearman in the I 870's. A this was in mark d contra t to, for example, crannog , where member were aware of the work done in Europe and hop d th y might provid a forum for Irish archaeology to b con idered eriously, it i uggest d that it further att ts the argument that thi journal was d liberate ly non-combati ve.

Question about the geogra phic or ethnic origin of the Irish were all but ab ent; uch controver ial subjects were avoided in favor of thos con idered I ss polemic. Crowe ( 1868) specifically warned against 't urning mytholo gy into history '. Differences between Ireland and the rest of Celtic Britain in treatment of the subject were , thus, apparent. Whereas , for example, in Arc haeologia Cambrensis origin and language had an increasin gly significant part from th I 870's, in Ir land in the late 1870's and I 880's as the revival aimed at makin g nationality le s sectarian, subjects which str ssed amenes rather than difference were preferred.

Th treatment of physical anthropology in the journal further r fleets the de ire to avoid open conflict , a most reports on rac and phy ical r main were sympath tic to the lri h. Race was spec ifically not mentioned in Wakeman 's ( 1870-71) di cus ion on remains found at the Cave of Dunmor e, but the historically atte ted fate of the p ople who peri h d at the hands of the Danes wa described a ' miserabl ' . He reported that some bone fragments indicated that the builder of the ' primitive earn and cist were of the aboriginal long headed race by which th north-w st of Europe was occupied in pre-historic times ' (pp579-

Crowe's ' Mythological Legends of Ancient IrelandThe Adventure ofCondla Ruad ' (1874) was the first of a proposed series in the 'Original Irish' with a literal translation and a critical analysis designed to 'g ive our literary friends of all nations an opportunity of testing the breadth and depth of the Olden Irish mind' , thus emphasizin g both Ireland 's early civilization and her connection to Europe and the society's de ire to stress this. Crowe sugg sted that, although the myths of other lndo- European peoples had been published verywhere , those of 'ancient Eriu, with all their beauty and uniqueness , are still kept enshrined in their sacred c lls', a reference to the dominanc of th subject by

152 In a laborious paper, 'The Celtic Races of Greater and Lesser Armorica deduced from the Ancient Gauls of Ireland ', illu trated by a complicated chart denoting 'The Parthalonians, emidian , Firbolg , Tuatha de Danaan , Miletians, and Britons of Strathclyde, &c.', Shearman uggested they were the first Aryan people to come to Europ e (.JRSAJ:Vol.111;4th ser).

61

of archaeology than academic propensiti s. Function , or areas of perceived r spon ibility of the society for the discipline, included the over eeing of xcavation, pre rvation of monuments, portable antiquities and langua ge, maintenanc of awar nes of new archaeological methodologies , public education and museum and library provision. s entially the members viewed th mselves as guardian of Ireland' past b fore th gov rnment took much intere t in the matter.

590), and ugge ted that these people wer also capable of constructing fictil ware of exce llent form and used well fashioned in trument of flint which were int rred with th bone (p590), thu using th physical evid nee to affirm the Irish origin of th art. Reflecting the lack of concentration on ethnic origins in general, physical anthropology as a racial marker, based on cranial measurem nt, was not a significant theme, despit member uch a Wilde ( J 874 ), physician and acknowledged expert , and an abundance of burial ite is:;_ Wild was acknowledged by Frazer ( 1890-91 ), author of' A Contribution to Irish Anthropology ', as the Father of Irish anthropology; he had ascertained that ther were at I a t two C ltic races, who wer mall and usually metac phalic, the long r h aded skulls being attributed to th primitive Fir Bolgs.

5.5.1 Meetings and Excursions Me tings were a regular part of the organization and well attended. At first they were held in Kilkenny , but later group were et up in other areas and ensured that the ociety ' activities xtended over much of Ireland. Although the main meetings w re lat r held in Dublin, the ociety remained local in the nse that groups concerned themselves with their own locality. The activities had th support of the ntire fabric of establishm nt soc iety. The support of the town was shown wh n it mayor, member Robert Cane, chaired the fir t meeting and the Kilkenny Corporation allowed the group to meet in room rented in conjunction with the Literary and Scientific In titution. In 1891 when a meetin g was held at Killarney and a visit to St. Micha I's Rock made, the high standing of the ociety, and th approval of the authoritie , was illustrat d when the Rear Admiral commanding the area mad one of H.M.O 's gunboat available for the trip.

Society activity actually led to many phy ical remains being recovered. Prim, in the first volume, communicated on 100 keleton found during drainage work which may have b en 'F irbolg , the first colonizers', but mad no more of it. Many of the human remains found e m to have gone to the society's museum ( ee e.g. JRSAI Vol.I:4th r;p65) , but little use was made of this collection. Further interest, when noted, often reflected the availability of an expert 'on the pot ' uch a the doctor whos detailed report described fragments and ch eked for disease, finding 'rheumatic' changes (ibid). Later articles indicat an acquaintance with thinking in England, but again assumption uncomplimentary to the lri h wer not made. Wak man ( 1870-71) quoted Thurnham and Gr enwell, 'a uthoritie s' on English barrow , who held that remains from the Yorkshire Wolds hawed evidence of cannibalism. Although Wakeman noted that lri h bon s had been similarly ' eparat d on from th other .... and packed in their narrow house ', he did not suggest cannibalism which would anyway have contradict d O ' Donovan ' s opinion ( 1860).

Place cho en for excursions, the non-di cursiv contribute to the picture of 19th century archa ology in practice. S veral were held each year, but it was only in latter years, when archaeology had achiev d a wider popularity , that the vi its were reported in th journal; in 1892 to Kilkenny and neighbourhood , K lls, and Belfast and District, in 1895 to Waterford and in I 97 to Drogheda. The places visit d cov red a wide range both geographically and in subject matter, but those chosen did not nece arily reflect the ame ar as of inter st air ady observed in the journal ' s articles. Not being subj ct to discourse constraints , the choic wa d pendent on external factor such a popularity , beauty and ace sibility; thus ca ties and fortification wer popular to visit, but not as subject for articles. Ecc lesia stical site were popular for both.

5.5 The RSAI in Practice The predominantly middle and upper class origin of the member determined their potential for influencing soci ty as a whol , thu what thi mixture of aristocracy, clergy, lawyers , and mi cellan ou middle etas es were doing as a group under th auspices of archaeology is ignificant. The publication wa available only to members , thus outsid activities wer mor lik ly to have a b aring on the public perception

In J 890 a party was taken to view the ' magnific nt Ce ltic Cros ' erect d to the memory of Jam Graves, rev al ing that it was acceptable for a reproduction of an ancient artifact, which was by now a national ymbol, to be chosen to honour an archaeologist, the ociety ' s founder , and that the ociety approved of the r -use of ancient material culture for uch purpose . Graves was a Protestant, illustrating that archaeologist did not perc ive th issue of using Catholic material cultur as sen itive enough to avoid their use. Th Celtic cross wa common property , Irish rather than Catholic, and

153

In the I 870's in some Briti h journals phy ical anthropolo 6ry wa involved in di cussion s which implied a seal of racial supremacy , for example one article which baldly stated that 'to speak of intellectual phenomena in relation to the Au tralian aborigines is omewhat of a mi nomer' (.IA/CBI 1872:Vol l;V).

62

particularly appropri at for an antiquarian. Thi s al o reflect th intlu nc of th pirit of the second rev ival on the ociety.

the meet ing Layard' s reply that he would remember Ireland if th re was to be a change. In 1879 the members reso lved to 's trongly ncourage' ir John Lubbock to continue his ffort on b half of the Ancient Monuments Bill which wa on it econd reading. Th m mber were indignant over the destruction of Iri h monum nts and a letter from Graves was read about th eviction of Elcock, a road contractor and tenant of th ' Dowth Monument', who had removed stones from it. Th society wa influ ntial enough to get th t nant victed beca us of the destruction (TKAS Vol.V:4th er;pl 3).

5.5.2 Pre servation and "Prot ection '

Preservation of antiquities was seen a the maj or task of members both individually and within the society. Th e extensive cove rage in the journ al illustrated the importance placed on it by the members who eriou ly felt that membership gave them a respon ibility toward th monuments and the right to speak on the pa t. Direct intervention was most often provok d by what wa perceived as a lack of adequat gov rnm nt mea ur for pr rvation , but there is evidence that the government fi It that it was the duty of these societies to adopt thi function. Thi applied particul arly to the RIA, which wa criticized by the gove rnment after the Ordnanc urv y wa canceled for not stepping into the vaca ncy (R port of the ommis ioners to both Houses of Parliament 1844). Th ociety was also critica l of the cancellation during the Cork urvey, as O ' Donovan 's 'ex pertise ' was forev r lo t for that county, which would have be n an ' obj ct of national and imperial importance ' (JR Al Vol.V:2nd er;p456).

The soc iety al o co-op rated with the gove rnment, illu trating the significanc of all these establi hm nt member to archaeology. When some ' per on on a plea ure party' were found damaging the churc~ at Clonmacnoise, the society employed a lawye r to aid the crown prosec utor in the prosecution. Ther wa no conviction, but the society had shown a principl ' to mi chi vou people that the amu ement of knocking th noses off old figure wa one liable to interfere with their per onal liberty' (}RSA/ Vol.Ylll :4th ser;p l9). The lawye r for the ociety, T. L. Cooke, was a memb r and Notary Public of Kilkenny. Thus, the society ' wider influence was al o vid nt. Pos itively, the ociety took advantage of th r n w d interest resulting from the publi city to undertak to repair some of the building (ibid).

Asid from the pre ervation of the loca l documentary history of Kilk nny, th ociety attempted to raise_fu nds and mobiliz public attention for the preserva tio n of antiqu1t1 with om uccess . Equally significant, the society wa ufficiently confident both of its own status as representative of Ireland as a whole and of the importance of archaeo logy to the nation to challenge the government. In 1884 an article 'E nactm nt for the Preservation of Monuments,' denoted th importance the members placed on this function. In I 93 the society congratulated itself that:

lncrea ed participation of the London gove rnment in Irish cultural affair was not alway appreciated, illustrating ' r istance' by the society. By 1875, disappointed by government legislation, th oci ty felt itself the mor comp tent. Owen, Archit ct to the Board of Works, had tak n advice from the oci ty and James Grave . Later, after a ' special office r' had been appointed by the treasury a uperintendent of National Monuments 'to whom wa ntrusted advice,' thi wa not 'so ught neither from th society nor the RIA' (Cochrane 1892 ). Significantly the sup rint ndent, Mr. Thomas Newenham Deane, an architect, was not a member ( I 874) and therefor not directly within the influence of th society, which wa resented. The result of the inadequacy, according to th jo urnal, was that in 1890 the ociety ' had ' to r ume the work of preservation at Killeton old church. Thus, after the protection act the re pon ibi Iity of the society le n d only theoretically and th member continu ed to press the subject. As everal workers for the Board of Works belonged to the society, it maintained an extended influence, mo t important wh n ' advic ' may be ignored.

No opportunity wa lost of directing publi c attention to the nece ity of the preservation of the ancient monument of the countr y by the Government, and the oc iety adopted a petition to Parliam ent for an annual grant of money to be laid out under the supervision of a committee of Antiqu aries for the preservation of the ruin of Ancient Irish buildin gs. Thu , the effort ov r th 45 years of its existenc , eve n concerning th public, wer viewed as succe fut. Th e ocial status of the group was of particul ar advantag when communi cation with authoritie or landowner was required. Members believed that histori cal remain s formed a part of a nation' history and hould be nation al property ( TKAS Yol.I:3rd ser) and acte d accordingly. Group effort often depended on writin g to other establi hment personag . ome of the effort required contact with England. In 1869 Ja me Grave wrote ' on b half of Ireland' to ir Austin Laya rd, First Commission r of Public Works, who had announc d in the Common hi int ntion to form a 'S tate D partment of National Antiquitie ' for England. Grave ho w d

A review of the Ancient Monuments Protection (Ireland) Act of 1882 was op nly critical of the 'a uthorities' , refl cting the increa ing des ire for cultural separation from England (Coc hrane 1892). In 1869, follow ing ' the exertion of the RIA' under Lord Talbot de Malahide, the Iri h Church Act had empowered the 63

a Tara and Navan Fort, New- range , Knowth and Dowth w r included, illustrating that th gove rnm ent thought these particular monum nt important , but did not wish to offend landown er by u urping their rights ov r I s r monuments. Even the ociety ' s influence could not over-ride the 19th centur y ideal of individua li m.

Irish Chu rch Commi ioner to transfer to th ecreta ry of th Board of Works church funds (£50,000) for th maint enance of 13 7 eccl iastical monum nts. Another act in 1875 saw £22,554 transferred to th board; th members felt the list to b inadequate, but wer anxiou not to mi this opportunity of some funding , a both the hi f cretary for Ireland and the Lord Chancellor of England al o agre d to increase the number in the future. Th Church Comm issioners had full power to transfer the r mainder to the Board of Works and £ 150,0 00 wa thought suffici nt. Coc hrane, under the society ' s auspices , wished to recomm nd 9 more, and suggested that the British Act worked only for England (ibid:p4 l 2).

The oc iety ' uccess with portable item wa much less impressive . Wherea monum nts and ecc le ia tical sites were viewed a co mmon prop rty by the ociety, its treatment of portable it ms illustrat that the rights of individuals to collect were not to be threatened. Many m mbers were collecto rs and the societl considered this an integral part of archaeo logy 15 • Wak man bought items from a co llector named Und rwood. A note in the proceedings ( 1890) exp lains that on m mber, Robert Day of Cork, pure ha ed from a marin d al r whom he had a ked to look out for bronze antiquiti 161b of bronz fragment , including thr imp rfi ct bronze looped socketed celts , leavin g the r t to b melted down. It was ace pt d that anything found or acquir d through any mean s by archaeo logist collectors b cam th ir prop erty to dispose of as they plea ed, for exampl in 1862 the Reverend Georg R ad acquir d a quantity of bronz e and copper antiquities by buying th m from a deal er in Dundalk he employed expr sly for that purpo se.

One of the society ' s most important aid to pr rvation was financial. Given governme nt inadequacy and, most importantly , when the re pon ibility was left to them, the ociety wa abl to u e its fund s for preser vation and its influenc to rai more . In 1869 it employed an architect to in pect the tower at t. Francis's Abbey. £ I 00 was need d to repair it for which the members ucce ssfull y sought ome public funding. In 1870 the ociety interested it If in the propo sed conservation of Monasterboice and £200 wa spent (ibid). When in 1873 the Round Tow r at St. Canice ' s was repaired, financed partiall y by the athedral registry, the societ y's input was evident a a member , the architect Jame s G. Robertson , had advi d on it. Th r pair of the conical cap of the le r round tow r of Clonmacnoise had also been financed by pecial subscriptions.

Th ociety was little able, or even willing , to protect th it m from unscrupulou s treasure hunter s, despite reference s to 'g old eekers' as ' pests ' (Hitchcock 1852). Only loosely covered by the nglish law of ' tr a ur trove,' their protection was even less we) I provid d for than monument s. Strictly speaking the item b long d to the landowner, but work r bowed obviou r luctanc to return th m without comp n ation. Although the RIA, which in 1861 allow d £ I00 p r annum for the acquisition of tr a ur trove, could offi r more mon y for items than j welers who wanted th m form !ting (TKA Vol.l:pl00) , the time dela y for th p a ant find r was usually unacc ptabl . Ext rnal factor such as famin condition s obviously ignificantl y affi ct d this.

Reflectin g the generalized intere t in ccle iology of the period, it is evident that the societ y was particularly concerned with protection of ecclesia tical monument s and the list of achievement , printed in 1892 (ibid), was impr ssiv . Th society's affirmation of the n d for eccl iology to be a symbol of unity was stated thus: 'No man in Ireland, no matter what his creed or politic s, would obj ct to such an application of the residue of the Church funds '. Th m mbers obviously perceived that both religiou group were working for a common cause. Althou gh ecclesia tical remains dominated , there was some concern for prehistoric monument . The 1882 Act which included ngland, Wales, Ir land and Scotland made provision for monum ents to be placed und r government care. The Board of Public Work was still the authority under who juri diction the monum ent s came, and the first inspector wa aga in Deane . The m mbers viewed the act as inadeq uate. Th ir particular cnt1c1sm, concerning ' national ' property, wa that the owners of Ancient Monument s were free to plac th m in the cha rg of th Board of Work , thus there was no compul ion, and the chedule for Ireland included only 18 prehistoric monuments. The mona tic buildings and castles on private property were sti ll not cov red by either act. Monuments such

Furthermore the government at this time was English, and even if the treasure trove law had been adequate , ' nat ional ' pride wa uch that there was reluctance on the part of the archaeologists to hand them over to the gove rnment , with the very real danger that they might leav th country. Franks (Archaeological Journal:No.37) noted that in the collect ion of Ce ltic

154

Although recent awareness in developing countrie of the los of ancient artifacts, often during the nineteenth century , has placed empha i on the re ponsibility of archaeo logi ts towards trading in antiquiti s, the trade thrived in nineteenth century Dublin, uch as that conducted by Richard and arah Glennon, who sometime old them abroad (Briggs 1978) , and wa contributed to by archaeologists.

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pr erved by its teaching in the Nation al chool on th same cal as Latin and French and a lett r writt n to the Commissioner of National Education (JR Al Vol.lll:4th ser;p367). The interest in language also indicates that the influ nee of individual member sometime domin ated the activities of the ociety, for which the group ' solidarity could be employed. Fergu on, Gilbert and H nn ssy were all member and important figures at the Public Reco rd Office at this time. The Don O' Co nor, later Presid nt of the Irish Language Society , was also a memb er. Ferguson, who led the prot st, wa a language cholar. Other members were on the education commission.

antiquiti s at the British Museum (518 donated by 33 per ons), man y wer lri h. Th self interest of individual s, and the unwillin gness of the soc iety to chall ng them, was a ignificant factor in the confusion. The society also protected it own intere ts, ven acting as a broker. In 1869 it pa sed a reso lution that 'o bject of antiquarian int rest' may be offered for ale at the own r' s risk in the mu eum of th society, which would receive I 0% of the sat pric e. In this way th society would have first choice of the items for its museum, followed by the RIA, and the Briti h Mu eum. Although m mbers were last in tin after the mu eums, thi att mpt to regulat the disposition of the it ms was far from adequate. Private collection also pr vented items from r aching the mu eums until much later, if at all. Day' s collection, for xampl , was old by Sotheby' s in 1913 just before his death (Armstrong 1920), only om of which wa bought for the national collection. Accordingly mu eum acquisition remained hapha zard and dep nd nt goodwill and cooperation between agricultural worker , archaeologists , j ewelers and benefacto rs.

The incident also indicates that the soc iety' s influence was not all p rvasiv as the answe r, in 1875, wa that it was not 'ex pedient' to adopt thi reco mmendation. In 1879, in acco rdance with philological tudi s lsewher , member acce pt d that Irish was worth pres rving for its own ake as Smythe pleaded that: ' Irish is no barbarou patois, but a languag highly polish d and cultivat d more than a thou sand year ago. ' He also remarked that as I in 5 million still peak it, ' the saying ometimes heard that the Irish language is dead expresses, there is much rea on to xp ct, a wish rather than a belief , r vea ling that memb rs were aware of a diffi rence between themselve and other establishment member on the subject (pp83-6). Already it wa obvious that the members felt them elv to have the respo nsibility to pre erve it for posterity, ju st as they wi hed to pres rv other ' monument ' . The practica l solution offered by Smyth , that lri h speaking nurs s hould be employed for children, was evid nc only that they wanted their own children to learn it. By 1900, although the ociety continued to expre it concern, the major succe s was to com from popular movement such as the Gaelic League, reflecting th popul ar influ nc of the rev ival.

Howev r, given that the number of gold ornaments and relic discove red in Ireland in ' modern time ' was numerous ( TKA S Vol.I I), the advent of the soc i ty was ome help both in making collections available for compari on and in preventing th ir destruction 155 • Collection s were often acquir d by the society after the death of member , for exa mple the DuNoyer co llection. Although, negatively, the ociety encouraged intere t and theor tically increased the pool of collectors , thi effect was counterbalanced by the fact that the soc iety mu eum beca me a repository and sometim s stimulat ed elfish collectors to show th ir hand out of pride; nonmember landown ers collected items as curiosities or, acquiring them throu gh th ir tenants, put th m away to gath r dust. The member could even display items in the museum without giving up ownership (TKAS Vol.I).

5.5.3 Advancement of Explanation and Theory

Method ,

Archaeological

The ociety specifica lly intend d to promote archaeological methodolo gy (TKAS Vol.lp99 ). Although it followed methods deve loped by other groups and was not particularl y innovativ , information made available through the oci ty m ant m mb rs applied new theorie a they aro e, for exa mple for provenance of artifacts. Day ( 1890) commented that the fragmentary nature of a collection of bronz antiquitie indicated that it was int nd d for recasting and therefore was an example of a chain of evidence that bronze items were manufactur ed in Ireland in a remote period, revealing his awaren ss of curr nt theory. In 1885 Graves , talking about 'ce lts' a extant from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic , remarked that it wa impossible to measure the age of the se period . He de cribed the various ages, th old and new stone age , the bronze with copper in between and the iron age, demon tratin g widespread acceptance of the thre age

Language pr ervation was regarded as a function of th society from its inc ption (TKAS Vol.I pl05 ) and again illu trates that the group was prepar d to challenge the wid r e tabli shment. Maintaining record s of the numbers of lri h peakers was uggested in the Queries ( 1849) , but the soci ty became actively interested in the l 870's , when fear that death in the famine and emigration had led to a decline in the numbers of lri h speaker which in turn would reduc e the numbers of available translators for manuscript on which scholar s were dep ndent, if it should die out. In 1875 there was unanimou s agreement with Ferguson , Keeper of the Records of Ireland, that Irish be 155

Armstrong ( 1920) estimated that£ I0,000 of ancient lri h gold was melted in the nineteenth century and more could have suffered thi fate.

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und rtake large, organized excava tions it elf and prefi rred ' r cu ' activity . The excavation r port illu trate both that the society con idered it elf to have a re pon ibility to overse operations they heard about in the vicinity and that choice of ite often reflected opportunity and geographical proximit y. Prim' (l 523) r port on an excavation of a rath at Dunb I revealed that it was not conduct d on behalf of th society, but wa a ' re cue ' operation after Prim and Grav s had heard that a farmer was leve ling a 'Ce ltic Fort'.

sy tern. cientific advance w re also app lied, for exa mple Frazer ( 1897) qualified his th ory for the nonnative origin of go ld item with a compari on of th weight of Roman coin and th gold lunulae in th mu eum, comparing th sp cific gravity and compo ition of Wicklow gold with that found by a sc ientist. The Queries ( 1849) illustrate what was thought important in 19th c ntury Irish archaeo logy and what it encompa ssed. Divided into five sections , this docum nt directly reflect th indignation at the ca ncellation of the survey, as it ought imilar information 156• Information on Holy Well , Patterns and such subjects wa sp cifica lly desir d by the Co mmitte e to confirm or explain the early annals of Irela nd and to decide doubtful topographical que tion s, thu s reflecting that th oci ty' mandat e was acad mic 157.

Powerful a th member were individuall y, the society was pow rl ss to top de ecrations on private land, but th ir pre ence nsured that the sites wer r corded. Many investigations w re conducted privately by member who had acce to the land through a ociation with the owner 158, and were thu dependent on connection and privil ge. This aid d archa ology wh n legi lat ion failed it.

Itemizat ion of the method s to b u d illu trat that certain standards of archa ological method were xpected of memb rs. M mber evide ntly u d them . Thoma Stanley of Tullamore ( 1870) asc rtained that 't he ru tics ' beli ved the tone in Ballynamona , near Durrow , including the Barna Liaga, ' are member of a line of stones which were et up from sea to sea at a dividin g of Ireland into two equal part ' and used thi knowled ge to uggest that the ton wer pillar s erect ed to th memory of heroe who w re buried in the rampart .

The ociety was aware that it was not always the uninform d who de crated monument . In 1879 Grave r mind d memb rs of the ' d ecration ' of Dowth by an 'A rcha olog y ociety ' (the RIA) 30 years before which had n ver publi hed any details of the excavat ion and had 'co ntribut d to it ruin'. Thu , 'o ne of the most stupendou , inter sting, and ancient memorial of the past has, after two thou and years, been in our day used a a conveni nt quarry by more than on p rson ' (JR A I Vol.V :4th ser;p 13). Member b lieved that excavation without publication was littl better than quarr ying.

Th ability of the society to provide xperienced per onnel as well a knowledge was al o important: Graves , when th Round Tower at t. Canice' s needed repair , referred to the importance of knowing the original design and conducting the r pair so a not to ' fface an hi torical ev idenc ' (JR Al Vol.lll:4th s r;pl I) . For ' Primaeva l Remain ' excavat ions and finds , and addr se of th ir pos es or , were to be r cord d. Thi wa particularl y important when so much archa ological material was in private hand . lnclud d were h lpful hints for recordin g, for exa mple of rath on 'e ncumbered ' agric ultural land, if to be d troy d.

om excavat ion w re undertaken by member , but u ually not under the au pices of the oci ty. Rath , out rrains and earns app ared to be the favour d sites. In th fir t volume, the pattern of excavati n, usually complet d within a day and als common in England, was rev aled. In 'O b erva tions n the Excavation of a am at C logmanty Hill ' Jame Grav s (1850-Slb) tated: On th day appointed , a workin g party and th neces ary implements having been provided, th Rever nd Luke Fowl r, Rev. Henry Herbert, ........... and ome ngli h gent! 111 n inter ted in the matter were met by my broth er secretary, Mr. Prim and myself on the summit of Clogmanty Hill, and operation s were comme nced (p289).

The oci ty showed early a war ne s of the pot ntial for destruction by excavat ion. Con equ ntly it did not 156

The third section, ' Popular uperstitions', was modeled on a manuscript by Wilde and concerned peasant beliefs in the "goo d people" or fairies, and their a sociation with di eas in people and cattle, charm and witchcraft and the custom relatin g to, for example, May Eve and Mid ummer or St. John s ve, and whether fires were lit on tho e days. 157 ection one was 'Local Hi tory', parish history and topo graphy and advised asking about ong , ballads and custom of the pea an try and us of the lri h Language, Ce ltic name s, Holy Wells and connected legend . ection four conc erned Ancient Building and Monuments uch as ca tie , abbeys and bridges, and fiv the church and churchyard.

The workmen , in the pres nc of th archa ologists, complet d the excavat ion that day. By 1868-69 excavation was reported I s frequ ntly, reflecting increased awar ne s by the members of the nee s ity for pre ervation and of the need for reporting. 158 For example in 1852 ome subterranean chamber on R J Mooney' property at Th Doon, Kings ounty were excavated by his cousin harle Foot.

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Tho undertaken w re less 'hasty ', for example Wak man' s excavation of a earn ( 1870-1871) took two and a half day and was accompanied by detailed drawings , a report on the bone by a doctor , and a comp let list of those pre ent.

Celtic Britain or Gaul was rare, although the 1890-91 volume included an article on ' Celtic Remains in ngland,' and on on similar forms of Christian cross found on ancient monuments in gypt and Ireland. An 'epitaph' for the society's 19th century activities em rged in a ketch on the 'advances made in archaeological studies ' which illustrated 'with patriotic pride the share which our society has taken in the work, and with inspiriting enthusia 111 call for new workers ' . The author al o pointed out the lines of antiquarian work needing 'help ' (Cochrane 1892). With the r vival, an admission of patriotism in archa ology was de rigeur and seemed more important than actual advance , illustrating the close relation hip of th development of the discipline with wid r social events .

Mo t nineteenth century archa ology was non-critical and based on eith r direct observation or docum ntary relationship to material culture , and activity was directed toward collecting and recording in the pres nt, hoping for later enlightenm nt. The author of the Querie believed that: all antiquitie no matter how trivial must be preserved a any contribution might at some future time furnish mean for the development of truth ...... For historic results can be deduced only from the comparison of num rou contemporary specimen (TKAS Vol.l:pl00). Thi indicate acquaintanc with Baconian comparative principle and their r levance to archaeological mat rial. By the l 870's some were collecting all implem nt , not just gold and ilver (e.g. Knowles 1885-6). Members were awar of the need for interpretation , but a th re was till little confidence in archa ological method alone, specially wh re historical records were also available, the most common theme for explanation was the relation of material culture to myth . Thi occurred throughout the century , being evident in O' Donovan ' s work in the I 840 ' s, and in Coffey ' in the 1890' . Coffey's ( 1896- 7) article on prehistoric ornament used the I gend of the occupation by the Tuatha de Danann of Scandinavia to back up his sugge tion that the spiral art tyle found at New Grange had it origin there. Coffey also showed an awarenes of po sible difference of opinion , justifying his use of myth by tating that origin myths necessarily have some justification in fact. Theories borrowed from other sciences were commonly u ed in 19th century archaeological explanation and were integral to the development of th discipline and w re commonly applied to Irish material. Ethnographical r ference was employed when Stanley ( 1870) compared the Giants b ds near Killatullagh to the red granite boulder erected by North American Indians at Coteau d Prairies and to Egyptian obelisk which Pliny had said represented solar rays and were dedicat d to the sun god. Stanley invoked a wider anthropological , archaeological and clas ical knowledge for hi interpretation of the stones. Comparison of Irish antiquitie to those in other places and to the observations of anthropologists continued throughout the period , and was representative of the attempt to relate Irish archaeology to a wider scheme. As noted with origin , compari on with other parts of 67

Raths, Dun etc.', and d rogatory r ference was mad to the neo0 l ct of kindred ocieties, it appears that publi c ducation was only to facilitate the studie of th member . Thi typ of education was self-serv ing. Pr servation wa its major aim as 'ig noranc ' leads to th destruction of monument which 'we re they better instructed , they would ven rate and pr erve ' ( TKAS Vol.l:p99).

Chapter Six

6 The Impact of Nineteenth Societies

Century Archaeology

6.1 The "Incorporation' of the People

The 'social history ' of Irish cultural institution pr ented in the previou chapter uggest the involv ment of Irish archaeology with the formation of public op1n1on rega rding Ireland 's p~st. !h relation hip of the e institutions to th wider society remains to be discussed.

At first the goals eemed to promi e a change. The Queries , unlik the journal itselt~ w re unusual in being availabl to the public. Modeled on th succe sful ' illu trated tract on popular antiquities and th ways of preserving them' published by the Royal Society of Northern Antiquarie in Cope nhag n, the Queries were int nded as a guide for Ireland and, lik th Danish ver ion, were to be di tributed to clergy , schoo lmasters and p asantry (ibid). They were distributed locally at least and an additional 500 copies wer printed in 1849. In 1879 the Committe still felt strongly enough to reprint them in an improved and exte nded form 'to endeavour to creat a pirit of inquiry to encoura ge pr servation and which might aid in education'.

Firstly , what all th Irish academic societie , early or later, Iarg or mall , had in common wa the conviction that they could sp ak for ' all Ireland' . Despite th fact that, in I 61, the total population of Ir land was nearly 6 million , whilst 3,0 00 at mo t belonged to archaeo logy societie , th se voluntar y member believed themselves to b th 'guardia ns' of the past. For in tanc , the RSAI thought that it had a responsibility to oversee all excavation in it ar a. Th Queri had in tructed m mber to eek names and addre se of everyone who mioht be of ome u to archaeology. What the C ltic So~iety thought they were doing as an all Irish group wa typical:

How ver, how far they wer acted upon by member of th public aft r receipt can only b surmised. The society wa little better at making their information available to the public than th restricted ocietie of the 1830' and 40 ' . The TKAS had limited circulation out ide the oci ty' s own membership. Although information was reprinted in other publication such a new pap rs, it did not u ually include detailed information on antiquities. Prim, one of the founders , being fir t a journalist and later the proprietor of th Kilkenny Moderator, printed a social cal ndar of th me ting and activitie 159

From archa ology this knowledge must come ... To give back to the imagination th race that have flourish d and pa sed away in our country is not the work of invention. The historian , the poet, and the artist mu t collect from the material s, which the Celtic Society seek to preserve , the colours that will give life and reality to th ir labour ; and enable them to adorn their country with gr at memori s and a ociations , which will make her dear r to h r sons, and more honored and inter ting in the ye of the world (R printed in TKA Vol.I).

A bit lat r the R Al appear to help education directly ; in I 873 placard wer provid d for Rev. Rowan , the atholic pri st at GI ndalough , to give to hot ls and guides. The e caution d again t ' injuring ancient sculptures under the penalty of law', but further reflect the society ' opinion of itself as havin g the responsibilit y for antiquities and speaking for all on th ir behalf. By 1874 there was access to th publication in some libraries , but availability did little to ensure that th public was r ading it. Sadly, with the exception of Dublin, the librarie s wer located either in th North or in England. Some Irish educational and academic in titutions wer represent d in the members Ii t ( 1871), such a the Mechanics ' Institutes of lonmel and Wexford, and th re is some r ason to believe that chool children may have at least known about the society a several Inspectors of Schools a wel I as some headma ter be Ionge d 160 .

The 'son ' wer seemingly excluded from th study. Th r fore, the question remains of how the mass of th p ople were to be included in the creat d pa t. For the KAS , education was often allud d to and an enlightened attitude towards the sharing of knowledge seemed to b projected thus: ' No man has a right to assume that he xi ts for him elf alone ' (TKAS Vol.] :p I 00). The Querie were ambitious in theory as r gard education. T aching the peasa nt that antiquities have an importance in the history of the nation gr ater than their intrinsic va lue was the stat d goal. People 'w ho mixed daily with the peasantry and who fully under tand their language, feelings , tradition and folklore ' were xhorted to aid this enterpri e with their 'ta l nts ' . Although th KAS alleg d its own succes in bringin g to public attention the condition of 'Carns ,

159 The reports were later collected, bound and presented to the ociety by Robert Hitchcock. 160 e.g. L Ryan of the Kilkenny Model School and Rev. W Steele, Royal chool of Enni killen.

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view of scientific method ' are onl y really valuable to the antiquarian tud ent when viewe d in connex ion with similar objects' (TKA S Yol.I:p I 03).

It is most likely, given Victorian individuali m, that it was left to individual members to do what they could to inform th public. Group such a the Celtic Soci ty, although expres ly intend d to increa ge neral knowledg , existed largely for the benefit of member , and took no part in ducating the public a a group, in contrast to comparabl soc1et1e in Scotland . Significantl y, archaeologists who educated the public , such as Petrie and O' Donovan, operat d out ide the societies, which indicates that there was a barri er produced by external factors to group action in this regard. It is argued her that the e are related to the perceived dangers of popularization . The council list of the Os ianic ociety reveals geographical, ocial , political and religious breadth of tho e counted a Irish cholars 16 1, but limitation to scholars and lack of an ducation program implie that they were afraid that out ide interferenc would affect their studies as it had th RDS.

However, althou gh the educ ative aim seems ambitiou , the early KA museum was not even op n to the public , whilst the Belfast Mu seum had public lecture and used imilar method s to the mechanic institute in England. Lack of support for the Kilkenny mu eum wa blamed on other age ncies, but it i evident that the public did not evince much interest in being educat ed. In 1873 when the soci ety app ealed to ' public spirit ' in Kilkenny to join with the Ass ociation to form a Museum and Librar y, hundr eds of circular were di tributed but only 3-4 repli s received. Consequently the museum and librar y of th as ociation remained closed to the publi c as ' no aid' wa availabl e to 'es tablish an Institution which would be to the credit of Kilkenny' (JR SAI Vo l.IIJ:4th s r;p5). Given the xtent of activity by the soci ty in thi area, the lack of public intere t appear incongruous, specially a money had been donated for pecial archa ological proj ects. It p rhap refl ct the poorer economy in the south and the absence of industrialist with funds for educating work rs, but more lik ly that ther wa imply not enough ge neral inter st in the ubject, which in turn wa related to demographic diff renc s. Importantl y, how ver, it doe indicat that the R Al was willing to share its knowledge.

Significantly, given the potentially sen itive natur e of religion, cclesiology groups of both religions specifically addressed public education. For the Church of Ireland group thi was only after it extend d its scop e b yond eccl siastical architecture; this suggest that eccl iology in isolation was viewed as divisive by th nglo-lri h. The Catholic group tried to encourage a wide m mbership, perhap becaus of the precedent for j oint activity set by the Catholic as ociation. Thi s means that the study of material culture was emphasized in a public way, but accentuated as their particular property. Eccl siology for the Catholic s also r fleets practicaliti s; th importance of the place of worship as an e sential part of religion rather than ju st academic enquiry and the ne d for inspiration for the n w church e required after emancipation .

That external factor were operating on attitude to populari zation were ob viou . At fir t, for public education on material cultur e to proce d without interfer nee, archaeology n eded to be vi w d a n utral, but with the influence of th revival, popular hi tory wa widely encou rage d, and the R Al responded to the change. In 1884 it wa not d that literary history and archaeolo gical subjects had failed to influence th publi c. Partly out of self inter st to attract new memb rs, a the ociety ' popularity wa waning in compari on with th new popular groups, in I 890 the committ ee agree d to prop rly etas ify and ext nd several departments of ' archaeological science' . By 1895 the decision to publi sh a serie of Antiquarian Handbook s illustrat es an organiz d stance on education. However, the subjects cho sen for the e reflect the existing intere ts of the rev ival in Irish mu ic, language, and church histor y, rath r than subject . chos n purely to inform the public , illustratin g that the society wa influenced by popular interest rather than the reverse. By 1914 there was an eclectic collection of 6 book in the eries 162 . Reprint s of extra volum es, however, w re still only availabl e to member s, although general

Another potentially important aid to education is the provision of museums. The KA form d one at Butler House, Kilkenny at its inception. Ther wa no national museum in Ir land until I 890, with that of the RIA being the nearest equivalent, thus any local museums were important for increa ing the potential for collection and public display of Irish material culture. Like Victorian mu eums in general, Irish museum were not considered a mere repositories for treasure , but int nded to promote 'g ood taste' amongst all clas es. The KAS aimed to ' fo ter public taste' and 'promot the study of archaeology' ( TKAS Vol.I :p6). Exhibitin g th by now familiar self intere t to protect objects so that they might study them, the member felt that a local museum would keep objects in the locality as they ' lose half their value and interest when scatter d in th keeping of individuals', and from th point of

162

They included Old Irish Fo lk Music and Songs by Joyce, Christian lnscriplions in !he Ir ish Lang uage collected and drawn by Petrie, Survey of !he Anli quar ian Remains on 1he Island of ln is111urr ay by Wakeman and C/onmacno ise and ifs Inscribed Slab s by Macalist r.

16 1

They included MacSweeny (Catholic ollege of Maynooth ), O'Mahony (Trinity College), Cleaver (Oxford), Clark (Catholic parish priest), and antiquarians O'Donovan and Windele.

69

availability would hav increa ed the potential for informed reading on archaeo logy for the public to counteract the popular movem nt.

emphaticall y than forma l education. Th peasant reported finds to clergymen in the abs nee of gove rnm nt ag nci s, thu this relationship wa important to archaeo logy.

Therefore, as th re w re no formal ducation programs , it i imp rative to look at things other than direct education to attest how far archaeo logy soc ieties wer involving the public in archaeology. An overall responsibility to the peasants concerning archaeology was clear from this discour e. The fam ine wa mentioned pa singly in Vol. I: John Dunne ( 1851) lament d that oral tradition was fast disappearin g, as 'the story telling p asant is in hi grave , th poor hou e or th wilds of America ' (p334). Dunn did not sympathiz with Wilde who was apparently only up at the potato-bli ght becau se of th loss of 'fa iry-lore '.

Ana ly i of the po t-find liti of artifacts al o indicates the importance of thes people in the conduct of archaeological activity. Metal dealers who bought items as scrap from peasant s who found them while working their r nted plot s wer the most important intermediarie and the abil ity to recognize artifact , particularly those without intrinsic value, was particularly important. A chain of events often acco mpanied the finding of items, illu trating the importanc e of communication. In 1869 (TKAS) at a meeting, Day displayed a gold fibula which had been found in a field at Ballymacotter , near Cloyne. It had be n seen fir t by 'Mr. Cronin' who procured it for an ounc of tobacco and brought it to Cork where it was purchased by a jeweler from whom Day obtained it. ronin later gave th find r £6 for it. 10:,_ Al o in 1869 a bronz leaf shaped sword in Day' collection was displayed which had co m into the possess ion of James Wilkin of Armagh when th county of Monaghan was proclaimed under the P ace Pre ervat ion Act in 1866 (TK.A Vol.l:3rd ser;p24). Although the connection is not clear, it is obvious that xternal factor were affecting the coll ction of antiquitie .

Thus , it is obviou the famine wa a concern. Many m mbers were known philanthropi ts; at lea t one was a poor law inspector. O' Donovan replied to Dunn ' s remarks on the lo of oral traditions , ca lling him a per on of ' genuine Irish and patriotic feelings' (ibid:p334), aga in illustrating the connection between the study of Irish antiquitie and genuin sympathy with th peasant . However , th plight of th peop le was not part of the re pon ibility of arc haeo logy soc i ti s, although th ir activiti s often provided money and employment. As a group, the soc iety only got invo lved in ocial w lfare proj ect if antiquities were directly affected. In I 68, wh n ' Burial Boards ' were formed by Act of Parliament to enclo e ome ancient churchyards to pr vent cattle tre passin g, the Poor Law Commission er (a Local Government Board) agreed when asked by th soci ty not to allow stone from th ruin of ancient church s to be u ed for new enclo sing walls for burial gro unds ( TKAS Vol.I :3rd s r;p2 I 2). Although th poor wer employed a labourer and the society's influence with gove rnment bodies wa demonstrated, the main object of these guardian s of th pa t wa still to prot ct archaeology for further tudy by archaeologists.

A r gard the importanc e of the public to the ' imag buildin g', however, the information derived from these intellectual journal tells u what the member thought th peasants requir d concerning anci nt history education rather than revealing what they actually thought or knew. One interesting incident concerned the destruction of artifact s at Clonmacnoi s . Although the cla s of the alleged p rpetrators is not clear, they w re members of a ' Young Men's As ociation ' and wer Catholic. Apparently part of th defe nc was that the damage could not have b en don by ' th prisoner ' becau e he wa ' RC' and because of the veneration in which the monument s wer held (TK.AS Vol.V:2nd s r;p59) . The members u ed the incident to reiterate the need for more ducation , but ther i littl evidence that any one group wa wantonly de troying monum ents.

It appears that good relationship with th pea antry were more important for archaeo logi ts to carry on their work than for the worker to k.now about antiquities for their own sake. Excavat ion reports provide some soc ial comment about the KAS' r lation ship with soc iety; gentry, clergy , middle clas and peasantry. Wakeman (1870-71) noted thirteen people pr s nt at his excava tion of a earn, few of whom wer member . Several were clergymen, ome ladi s, and ' evera l gentl men who had paid more or le s attention to archaeo logical pursuits' , along with ight workmen . Thu , excavations provided visual spectacl e, entertai nment, work, and an opportunity to inform th uninform d. The impres sions of th peasant labourers wer not recorded , but they must at least have welcom d th extra ca h and th work wou ld have increased their aware ne s of the importanc of archaeo logical material to the g ntry, more

Thu , a education was directed at teac hing p ople not to de troy things so that they co uld be studied by archaeologists , it is evident that members desired to maintain control of archaeological activit y. The dichotom y was exhibited in the Querie when it was admitted that pea ants had information to be 'e nquired after' (see chapt r 4) . When Thomas Eddy, ' known as 163

imilarly, in 1854 Captain Edward Hoare acquired a silver pennanular brooch from 'an ignorant and Gothic watchmaker' who had removed the ambers from it before he realized it was 'from days of yore' which saved it from the melting pot (TKAS: Vol.II[).

70

the Comish Miner ', carefully extracted a pot from undern ath a hug boulder , it was mentioned that uch incid nts wer invaluabl to ' students of primaeval antiquity ' (Carroll 1862-3 ). Thus, for archaeologists success in education often alluded to that which allowed the continued practic of archaeology .

ensured that they maintained the right to speak on the Irish past. The variety of in titutions in the I 830 ' s and 40 ' s ranged from the frankly exhibitionist, to the academic , but at this stage considering themselve academic did not ensure survival if th y were too closely a sociated with a wider populac , or openly encourag d 'debat ' .

Formal education a to antiquities, therefore, did not much improve with the formation of the archaeology societies, except to allow membership to more than just scholar . There was contemporary criticism of archaeologist ' lack of public involvement (see chapt r 7) and the gentry w re blamed for 'depreciating the past' (DUM 1858b ). However, it is evident from the historical context that public education could also be int rpreted a popularization which was dang rous both to the peace and to study at that particular time. In retrospect , the later popular movements such as the Ga lie League illustrat that, lik O ' Conn II' movement , it wa the combination of history with a mor phy ical, ven recreational , nationalism which contributed to revolutionary nationalism, rather than the purely int llectual movement. Significantly , the only specifically archaeological journal freely available to the public in th I 850 ' s wa the UJA, and it d mi e may hav been du to the strengthening de ire of archaeologi ts not to g t involved in argument about material cultur as the s ctarian conflict widened. 6.2 Archaeology Knowledge

Societies

and

the

Power

Significantly, major Protestant nationali ts of both th l 790's and I 840' belonged to cultural /hi tori cal societie , just as nationalists sometimes formed group to which archaeologists belonged . This overlapping member hip has led to the as umption that archaeologist promot d nationalist past (see e.g. Cairns and Richards I 988) but most , for example Denny Lane, abhorred the artificiality of cultural nationalist groups such as the '84 CI ub. The ov rlap may also be attribut d to the limited intellectual circle within Dublin in the I 840 ' s; the list of peopl present at Davis' funeral printed in The Nation reads like a list of attendance at an RIA meeting (See chapter 7). Later it was obvious that ther were two oppo ing faction of opinion on th role of Ireland ' past, but th se were not nece sarily divided along religious lines which can be attribut d to the moderation of the archaeology societies. One wi hed to create a safe environment for studying the pa t and the other , th product of nationali ts, to u e it for th ir own nds to promote Ir land' glory.

of

How ver, it is significant that involvement in national , even ' editious ' politics , wa no barrier to belonging to archaeology ocieties . This uggests that it was the institution themselve which nsured neutrality rather than individuals. Joint member hip m ant stab Ii hment members uch as peace-keep rs mixed with 'nationalists ', corroborating the view that ancient hi tory itself was considered a forum for unity. In 1874 the veral former Young Ireland supporter in the R Al included Hennessy, Justin McCarthy, Jam s McCarthy, David Moriarty and Meehan. Political Prote tants who belonged mostly upported Home Rut . Direct participation , uch as contributions to the journals , was minimal , but those who did contribute , for example Lenihan, showed only the mod rate views typical of the society as a whole , which would not accept them otherwi e. In a wider sen , ther fore, archaeology acted a a moderating , rath r than an inflammatory influence on the s ctarian conflict.

It is argued h re that the conduct of archaeology in Ireland wa profoundly influenced by the organization of archaeology into institutional ocieties , but that member saw thems Ives as having a role in moderating betw en conflicting sectors in society to prot ct mat rial culture. They viewed serious archaeology as an antidote to bigotry and extremism . After the example of the RDS, a reluctance to become directly involved in politics at all, except where archaeology was directly affected, was evident. Ancient hi tory wa an intellectual activity officially sanctioned as apolitical through the combined action of the members. Con equently, although archaeologists spoke for the pa t, it was a sanitized past, chosen to avoid controversy. All oc1et1es were nonsectarian , religious differences were alway left outside of society activity and most were composed of a mixture of religion . The Celtic Society, for example , had Protestant and Catholic members and was illustrative of the patrioti m of scholars whose 'nationalism ' was love of the country and its past, a continuation of the patriot societies of the 18th century. The e group perceived themselves as existing primarily to facilitate study rather than being a political force. Thi was reflected in their obvious s If interest.

Th membership of Mrs. Alice Stopford Green provides an example of the seemingly separate natur of ancient history and politics. In 1900 she joined the R Al , was a Fellow in 1914 and wrote The Hi tory of the Irish Stat e ( 1925). She was active enough in politics to have organized a 'London Committee' to collect money for arms for the lri h Volunteers , a militant group supported by another member and later President of the society Eoin MacNeill , and was nominated to the first senate. Paradoxically , according to her obituari t in the

Thus, scholar formed cultural in titutions who e e tabli hment member hip and insular acad micism 71

ociety. Bishop James Thoma O' Brien, atholic Bi hop of Os ory, Ferns, and Leighlin, wa a foundin g member, Patron, committ e member and Tru t e of th KAS, showing ' int re t in the welfare of th oci ty' and giving 'a dvic ', but neith r took part in the m eting nor contribut d to the Proceedings (JRSA I Vol.II I:4th s r;p3 I 0). Hi offerin g was, however, of lasting moment to the conduct of the ociety as he introduced Rul 7 which prohibit d political or religiou discus ion. It is argued here that the influence of important p ople aided moderatio n of th di cour e. From a ocio-political p rspective the societies al o created opportunitie for community interaction and th mixing of upp rand middle cla e .

JR A l , for h r the word tate m ant ' religion, I arning,

lit rature, th art , the cultivation of national tradition , national economy' (JRSA I 1930). He alleg d that was not concern d with politic and ' international antipathi s had no part in her work' (ibid). Her involvement in s dition was ignored and h r cultural conn ction tre sed in a non-political journal to emphasize th n utrality of cultural activiti s. The religious mixture found in th literary soc ieti s was in sharp contrast to th Ecclesiology soc ieties, the first venue for eparate tudy after the RD . Formed aft r the Oxford mov ment, it is ignificant that the English model produced s ctarian soc ieti s, illu trating the s nsitive nature of r ligion in comparison with the neutral nature of ancient culture and manuscripts , for the study of which both religions worked in uni on. This was illu trated in th inaugural addre for the Os ory Society in 1874 when Dr. Moran aid:

In regard to the influ nc of oth r occupation , a myriad of micro-facto rs are vident. Activity wa profound ly influenced by mundane matter . The repre entation of physicians, being low, probabl y re ult d in the poor inter tin physical anthropology of the R Al as a who) . The membership of som occupations had a practical aspect, indicating that int re t in the pa t wa not all academic; architect uch a McCarthy u d their antiquarian know) dge to build churche and lawyer were al o interested becau e of their profes ion, for exampl a regard both the 'Land Que tion' ( Prenderga t 185 I), and governance of the people (Cork His tori cal and A rchaeolog ical So ciety Journal Vol.10:pl 6).

I will ask you to tak for your motto the words NO C patriam, for a lov of country and lov of religion are ins parably united in the lri h h art, so th sacr d memorie of the pa t, and the heroic deeds of Ireland's history are at the ame time the true glory of our country and th glory of our church (p J ). Thi sums up th Catholic position where religion and anci nt history formed one ingle compon nt with love of country.

However, the mo t important question to be answered is whether there is evidence that member ith r exclud d particular ections of the community from knowledg , or used archaeology to either uphold or attack the pow r tructur e. In the 19th century, b fore it wa a paid occupation , archa ology was the pre erve of tho e with the resource and tim to pursue it, thu of the ari tocrac y and n wly lei ured and moneyed middle cla e ( Piggott I 976). This wa the cas in Ir land. In 1890, the R Al boa ted that on of the functions of an ' unpolitical and unsectarian ociet y is to organize xcur 1011 wher Ladie and Gentlemen of variou occupations , cla se and religiou denomination s, bishop , priests, barri ter at law, solicitor , landed gentry, army and navy offic rs, doctors, pre smen, artist , geologist and botani ts mingle and hare a common table . The lower cla se did not directly participate. Th practic e of admi sion of new members through nomination by existing members, and th n election on ballot, limited the social ba e, confining membership to people who were already 'known '. This clas bias was more enduring than the religious.

The view wa al o wid ly h Id that th early Iri h church had a pecial place in th hi tory of Chri tianity , but Moran, in refi rring specifically to th atholic Church, illustrat the grow ing re istance by atholic to Anglo-Irish appropriation of the lri h pa t where the ' first gifts of thi eltic nation wer offered to th ro s of Chri t upon th hore of the si ter island ' (ibid:p2). Mc arthy ' critici 111 ( 185 1) of the u e of eltic ornament in church decoration, indicatin g that for Catholic the art wa not ju st for art' sake as expre sed by Davis, but for th integrity of th symbol , al o implies a resistanc to the Prote tant view of Ireland 's history. Th 111 mber hip of Gavan Duffy ( ee chapter 6) on the JES council indicated a connection betw en eccle iology and Catholic nationality. How ver, the growing conflict creat d a subcon cious impulse amongst scholars towards joint tudy, reflected in the activities of archa ology soci ti s in the J 870 's where , paradoxically , ecclesiology was to become th focu for unity.

It i evid nt that, numericall y, group antiquarian studi s were dominat d by the Anglo- Irish, although Catholics made up approximately 90% of the population in the mid-nin te nth century. It is, therefore, important to analyze th possibl r a on behind reduc d Catholic 111 mbership. Th ballot obviously contributed, but other ocial and economic factor were significant.

Given the commg together of all the e influential peopl , their purpo e in joint a ociation becomes cl ar. The benefit of nobilit y membership was obvious. Although their input to the di course was n gligible, their influence worked in other way . Influential members helped to ensure the smooth runnin g of the

72

Lack of a Catholic middl class is obviously a ignificant facto r 164 , presuming reduc d participation. Th total number of Catholic s with the financial means to belong wa low 16:-. The numerical predominanc e of Protestant in scholarl y soc ieties, therefore , was al o a con equence of wider demographic s and ocial conditions in Jr land ge nerall y rather than imple restriction of knowl edge, although the limitation of opportunit y for Catholic s for tertiary education is also significant. Archaeology has been shown to be a middle class activity and as the Catholic middle eta itself increased, o did their interest. In the third quarter of the century, when economic, social and educational condition improved, Catholic participation increased dramaticall y and by 1874 the Ossory Society boasted many Catholic 'scholars'.

m mber were aristocracy with e tat s in Ireland. Non Iri h residents may have been k en to understand the ' Irish problem' . Interest from the colonie dir ctly reflec ted England' s imp rialism; some member thou ght th y might learn something about their own dominion s. This all sugges ts that there were many factors affecting the pract ice of archaeo logy in Ir land. The nobilit y were losing their traditional power over history (see Plumb l 969) , and may have used th oc1et1es to maintain control over archaeology. Significantl y, most ' peace- keeping' m mbers came from within Ireland, implying that th y had a pecia l motive to under tand 't h population throu gh tudy ' (see e.g. Hill l 853) and facilitate gove rnm nt. For th KAS , th number of memb rs involved in peacekeeping wa unexpectedly high, even given that th e tablishment carried a respon ibility towards th ju tic system. Lawyer had been involved with other cultural societies from the b ginning. Notably pres rvation of material culture wa th major concern of the societi s and it is argued h re that, given the preponderanc of e tablishment members, thi reflect the de ire to maintain the status quo. In Ireland thi took on a greater ignificance; th t rritory of the majorit y wa being protected by a co lonial, ther for , imperiali t, minority. On lawy r member of the KA , Pr ndergast ( 185 1) dir ctly stated that:

The lower repr sentation of Cat holic clergymen compared to Protestant is also attributable to social factor . Participation from a trictly economic level was feasible a the income of Catholic priests was not significantly low r than Protestants 166 • Large flock and consequent lack of leisur may have b en a factor 167 Other factor came from within the Catholic Church itself. Cullen had been pecificall y again t the political use of hi tory by Catholic s and participation increased after his demise. The first truly prolific contributor to the JR Al who was also a member of the Catholic clergy , Rev. Dennis Murphy, SJ, wa only prominent after Cullen' death. As rega rd Catholic influence within societie , at the foundation of the KAS the patron wer all Church of Ireland, but Walsh, Catholic Bishop of Ossory , was asked to 'a llow himself to be elected Patron', and 'a lthough fri ndly to the society, d clined ' (JRSAJ Vol.lll:4th ser). Thi implies that it was not necessa rily indicati v of exclu ion that Catholics were not present at all leve ls in the RSAI in the early days, but that social and economi c factors, even internal church politic , were at work.

There is no period of th history of Ir land so interesting to th historian or the lawye r or so important for the statesman to study as the ra of the Gr at Rebellion of 164 l. Then was formed that balance of conflicting inter sts which, founded on the great landed ettlem nt adopted at the restoration , Ii s at the root of the Irish land question , in th elucidation of which a full history of th Cro mwellian s ttlement would gr atty aid (p420). Although political factor ar obvious even in the moderate KAS, 19th century archaeo log i ts viewed themselves as ' bear rs of valu s' who counterbalanced the power structur . Although the soc ial profile of th members implies that archaeology societie would uphold the power of the state, it i evident that they often oppo ed and challenged it on b half of archaeology. That th re were diffi ring attitudes towards archaeology within the e tablishm nt community is evident from the beginning of th KAS, shown for example when the society did not shrink from studying folklore even after the cancellation of the Ordnanc e Survey. The society was not averse to using its influence with the government for the benefit of archaeology and used individual members to aid archaeology against others, for example Cooke, Notary Public of Kilkenny, for the Clonmacnois e case. The continuous membership of Catholic s also meant that Anglo-Irish influence in the important KAS was never total. It is argued here that this combined pre nee served as a moderating influence and prevented

Somewhat parado xically, given that the ubject of interest were largely Irish by 1874, there wa a significant numb r of members resident outside Ireland, particularly in England. Some of this interest, along with that from the colonies, came from expatriates , but not all. Many English clergymen belon ged. ome 164 In 186 1 98% of all agr icultural and genera l labourers in the three southern pro vinces were Catholic (Co nnoll y 1982). Of the professions Ca tholics made up the following: physician 32%, barri ters , attorneys and solicitors-34% , civil engineer 29%, and architects-3 1%. 165 In 1869 the annual fees of the RAJA were I 0-20s . Even at the end of the century, although membership of the Cork Hi torical and Archaeological Society, ( 1891) was open to 'all interested', it req uired an annual subscr iption of 7/6. 166 Connolly ( 1982) suggested that in 1835 Cat holic prie t earned £ 150 co mpared with £90- 170 for Presbyteria ns. 167 In 1840 the average Catholi c parish had 3,000 parishioners and the Protestant around 300 (ibid).

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archaeology from controver y. Archaeology had a wider political role, repre enting a microcosm of opinion within Irish ociety.

influ nc of a wider ociety , subj cts likely to promote unity rather than disunity were preferr d. It is argu d here that the real pow r r garding archaeolo gical matt rs within th soc ietie ca me from erious archaeologists , ome of whom wer clergy. The editorial committe of the RSAI wa co mpo ed of known archaeologi ts, thus they directed the discours from within. This combination of ari tocrac y, clergy and p ac k epers created a definitiv e power base from which to work. The Co mmitte e decided what wa ' objectionable '. In effect th other m mbers ended up working for the committ d archaeologist . Th Queri s stated dir ctly that the information was desir d by the Committee. This mall group formed a s miprofi ssional body h lped by member s who ' policed ' their territory for infraction s. A late as 1870 finds wer still regularly reported to the clergy. Th syst 111 worked incredibly well. oc1et1 s dominat d archaeo logical activity durin g thi p riod. M mbership of, for example, public work board member en ur d that little happened that th y didn ' t know about. The ocieti s, th refore, repre ent a succe sful effo rt by the e stabli hment member , direct ed from within by archa ologi ts, to ord r know! dg about the past on their own terms.

Th fact that their influenc with the government was not all pervas ive de pite their connection also illustrate that they were intermediaries. They wer unable to get lri h introduced in the schools in 1875 and wer pow rles to top xcava tion or protect monuments on private land. Their influ nc with oth r members of the community wa also not co mplet . Although they were abl to get public funding for pres rvation project , they could not get it for the Kilk nny museum, which sugge ted that other of their class viewed archaeology and popular projects with some su picion despite connect ions. In the spirit of philanthrop y, the m mbers perc iv d their own role as ' for ' archaeo logy and, in a wider sense, th p op le, and 'aga in t' the gove rnment. The constancy of participation of th cl rgy was notabl e and the combination in m mbership of the clergy of both group had a mod rating effect. Th ' non ectarian ' clau e was ugg st d by clergy member both for the Kilkenny ociety in 1849 and for Ulst r in 1884. The clergy maintained b tter communication with the opposing sect than other members of th community , and this was extended into the ociety. Member were careful not to provoke conflict , but an undercurrent was apparent, illustrating the ffectiv ness of archaeology as a moderator. In 1893 Father Murphy politely reminded his readers that :

6.1.3 The influence Archaeology

of

~External

Factors '

on

That archa ology does not operate in a ocial or political vacuum i w II illustrated in the discourse. Topics of intere t change significantl y and are related chronologically to the political climate , thu the di cours reflect the time at which it was written . The space given to pr history in th JRS A I I ss ned as the century progres ed. Thi was r lat d to the Ios of faith in the Young Ireland movement after the I 848 rising, and to suspicion of the past aft r O 'C onnell 's monster 111 eting at prehistoric sites. Cranno gs, which were not as ociat d with nationalist act1v1t1es, enjoyed continuou s popularity, whereas Tara was virtually ignor d.

For rea on which I ne d not dw II on her , it was the custom of many of our lri h youths for fully two centuri s ... to go to foreign countries in earch of I arning (p23 7). A more specific question concerns their influence on the discour e. It is logical to a sume that Fundamentali sts dominatin g th soc, tie may have influenced interpretation wh n acceptance of evo lution was es ential to the development of a time frame for prehi story 168 . The editorial Committ e of the RSA) until the I 870's w re largely clergy and decided what opinion s were ace ptable for pr sentation , but there was little direct evidence for any particular group retardin g development in archaeological m thod or explanation. Although ther was little attention to prehistoric subjects betwe n 1860 and 1890 and it might be alleged that the influence of the cl rgy made this a no-go subject in Ireland, it is more likely that, owing to the

In the I 870's, after Oise tabli shm nt, historical inter st w re more prevalent as the national movem nt gain d momentum, whilst prehi tor y was avoided as being too sen itive and inappropriate for unity. Eccl siastical hi tory became increasin gly important , along with ustained interest in in cribed Ogham Stones. Notably subjects which were distinctively Irish and considered representativ e of Ireland ' past without b ing too political, such as Round Tow rs, which the oci ty invested much money in restorin g, were most favored. Crannogs now were advantag ou for establishing Ireland's place in a wider scheme. By 1890 the cclesia tical past was s nsitive again , having gained more ignificanc e for Ca tholic s than for Prote tants, and the society briefly turned its attention to language and literature to stre ss unity. However,

168 Although there i no evidence for human occupation in the Paleolithic in Ir land, members wer aware of work in other countries and the numerous fl int tool found particularly in the north of Ireland till caused ome confu ion in dev loping a time-frame for Irish prehistory. Boucher de Perth s was elected as a corresponding member in 1850 (TKA Vol.I).

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they could not compete with popular movements uch as the Gaelic League and, by 1898, most papers were eccle iastical; thus the wid popularit y of literatur had led to a reve r ion to the le provocative.

English Prim Mini ter called Ireland hi 'g reatest difficulty' , sugges ted that ' Ulster i not Irish' . On the is ue of profess ional education, Belfa t wa favoured over the south, thu s~ ' Quee n ol I ge i more practically u ful than those of Cork and Ga lway united' . In addition some opinion s in the JB NFC concerning other races mirror d those in Engli h ones ( chapter 4 ).

From the 1870 ' concentration in intere t in ' lri h' ubjects, but not n cessarily ' eltic' , was notabl e. Interest in th origin of the art to str ' lrishness ' is evidence of the influence of external factors. Howeve r, more mundan e factors also influence the discour . The ociety was also a group compo sed of individual who could impo se their own ideas. Writers on origin , such as O ' Dono van and Rhy , w re member for whom the subject wa of particular intere t. Similarly, wh n articl on a ubject m limited, for exampl the Druid , this may have r fleeted a limited number of member interested in th ubject rather than avoidanc e of nationall y sensitive ubjects. Lack of interest in subject , ven physical anthropology, may imply reflect th fact that oth r agencies such a th RI A covered the subj ct 169 • However, by comparing this information with that found in the media it will be seen that a wider fear exi ted of the po ibl politic al nature of ome subject of which archaeologist must have b en aware ( ee chapter 7). The n d to explain th difference b tween Saxon and Celtic society wa oft n referred to in the media and it ab ence interpr t d a an avoidan c of respon ibility on the part of archaeologi ts by these non-academic writer . Thi s stre e th importance of looking at the ituation in context.

Thus, despite the desired neutrality of 19th century archaeology, there was a change with increa ing conflict and the divisions were eve ntually transmitted into the disciplin e. The end result was evident in 1940 in an HM O handbook print ed in B !fast thu : Wh n the first half-lege ndary tales began to thro w some light on the history of Ireland, Armagh is already at the forefront .... The h roic exploits of many of the champion w re acco mplished in the defenc of Ulster in ge n ral, and particularly thi part of it, aga inst invad r from the outh and that there i ome historic ba i for these tori i shown by th exi tence in the count y of rmagh of two traveling earthwork ... on near mania it elf .... In the early Chri tian period Armag h continu ed it pre-eminenc , for it wa cho en as the seat of the primacy ( hart 1940). 6.2 The Achievements of Archaeolog y Societie s

Although the larg numb er of non-contributing member of the variou s archaeology ocieties acco rd with th vi w of mid-nineteenth century societies a a means of ociali zing (Piggott 1976), in Ireland activity wa part of the wider politi ca l ituation when a focu wa ne d d for common -ground . A ide from accumulation of inform ation , they provided a stab I , in titution al background for tudy of the pa t. The ocieties dominat ed archaeologica l activity, but had a moderating influence which ometimes challeng d the dominant view . Foucault sugges ts that peopl were incorporated into di ciplin es in order to aid ' ocial control ' and aid that they became the pa sive objects of knowledg because of imperiali 111 ( e chapter I ) and restricted knowl edge . In th case of Irish cultural institution neither asse rtion was borne out, as archaeologist led the res istance to the dominant view of the population as uncivilized.

External factor s w r seen to affect the conduct of the ocieties. By 1874 renewal of local aims by the RSA I ignified increasing provincialism a the confli ct b tween the groups widened and nationalism wa ' dangerous' to tudy. This continu ed into the reviva l. The local ocieties found d around 1890, such a in Kildare, aimed to concentrat on local hi tory and archaeology~ the se subjects were protected from the wider i ue , reflecting th desire for cultur al neutrality to count ract the political in tability. There was some difference in conduct between north and south . The Church of Ireland wa tronger in the north, and it i notable that mo t promin ent archa ologists were ither from the mor rural outh or from Dublin , wher ocieties and publication s were concentrated 170. As the north-south division becam more absolut e, archaeology was used to emphasize it. As early as 1853 Hume in the UJA, noting that the 169 The Dublin Univer ity mu eum in 1847 already had a type collection of ancient kull 'well fitted to aid tudent in inquirie into varietie of the human race'. 170 Piggott's ( 1976) view that the more indu trialized area exhibited less interest in archaeology appears supported, but Raftery ( 195 1) notes archaeological activity in 19th century Ireland depend d on the owner of the large estate which were concentrated in the outh where activity would neces arily be concentrated.

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Th a soc 1at1on of nationality and antiquities is the mo t import ant cone pt in the publication s, but on clo s xamination the function the two were supposed to play wa not the same. Davis and Gavan Duffy aimed to r boenerate enthu ia m for Ireland through education (Dav is 1987). Promotin g ' nationality' was largely th object of th literat ure of th e Anglo-Irish id alists. In a similar style to 18th c ntury romantic , they used prose and v r in praise of Ir land and h r past. For the Prot tant Davis, th ' nation ' wa a 'spiritual es nc ' , thus a vagary untroubled by political or socia l concerns (Davis 1987); ' nationalit y' was based on r sidence and a ocial , but not practical , commit ment to the Irish (Cairn and Richard I 988:pp35 ,38). Th vaoueness of Iri h ' nationality', lik the vaguene of th; past , was d liberate, to allow the cone pt of neutrality for ancient history, so that the past co uld b usefu l in a land whose population was divided.

Chapter Seven

7 Irish Antiquities, Archaeology

and the Media:

1830-1900 7.1 Introduction If not from archa ology soc1et1es, whose information was somewhat restrict d, wh r could the Irish public receive information on the pa t? The main cone rn of thi chapter ar th extent to which the result of archaeo logical activity were communicated , and the use mad of th e idea in a non-archa ological context. This is important for understanding th m an by which ideology and archaeo logy interacted. Nationalism itself beca m po ible because of the increa d ava ilabilit y of vernacu lar print (see Smith 199 l) and wa linked to historical education. Thu :

For Prot tant run jo urnal which comm nt d directly on antiquiti , the neutrality of material culture was also the them . The e w r pre ented in assoc iation with ubj cts such a agricultur aimed at ' impro v ment' of the population . The DPJ 's ubject s w r , 'exc lusively national ground ' and includ d histor y, biography, poetry, antiquitie , natural histor y, legend and tradition ' with national a well as useful obj ct ' ( 1832:Vol. l;No. I ,June 30). People's ' mind had been exclusiv ly occupied by polemics' , but th ubjects could n v r fail to intere t the feelings of a people '. In thi context ' national ' ubjects were tho of common Irish int r t and were supposed to exclud politic s.

It i important to und r tand to what an enormou ext nt the presentation of th pa t, th medium , contributes to changing it hi toric significan ce, and to what a larg xt nt thi i determin ed by th present (Kri tian en 1993:pJO). Contemporarie acknowledged the importanc of popular literatur in formin g public opinion. In one Irish publication it was stated that ' men are what books make them ' (DI M: l 848;p7-9). In Jr land discourse inspired by the practice of archaeology wa widespread. The printed material analyzed for thi chapter has been grouped und r th general headin gs of n w papers, ' p nny journal ' , magaz ines, sectarian lit ratur e, books and poetr y. For the nglish working eta s, much hi torical information was deriv d from romantic novels , but aside from poets such a Moore , no Iri h writers wrote similarly for Ir land. The effect of poetry and oral tradition a historical information is included in order that the study be comprehen ive.

The idea wa r iterated by P tri in the Irish Penny (/PJ) which was 'w holly national, and untinctur ed by the slight t admixture of prejudice either political or ectarian ' ( I 41 :No. I ;June 26,p8). Thi s empha izes the id a of archaeologi t using education on national ubject to eliminat politic s. How v r, a discus sed above, it is impo ibl to i olate cultural nationalism from political. The illustration accompanying an article ' Druid ltar, I land Magee' (S M' I 832) in the DPJ wa of so m ignificance to political nationalism, showing the p nin ula that Lord Edward Bruce land d at with 6,000 men in May 1315, having been invit d by O'Neill and other Irish chi ftains to b come King of Ir land . Another DPJ article described 'The Battle of Clontarf from manuscript s (O ' Donovan J 832b).

Journal

Th most accessible antiquarian information came from n wspaper , for exa mple The Na tion and p nny journals , uch as the Dublin Penny Journal (DPJ). Archaeologists, such a P trie and O ' Donovan , contributed to both of the e. Other publications , uch as the Irish Build er (IB) , were directed at pecific audi nc . It i al o worth mentionin g th xi tence of information from other sources uch as cheap pamphlets int nded to appeal to the masses. One , The Vision Of Tara, wa printed privatel y in London for the author , 'O car', in J 83 1. It was overt ly po litical in extollin g the heroine Hib rnia, directly pitting h r against her rival Britannia. Thi confirms th ex i t nee of a cheap, popular pamphlet s influ encing perception s of the past which, however , is outside the cope of this thesis.

What these writer appear to b Ii ve would b the result of dir ctly informing the peasantry i particularly important in indicating the value that was perceived to be contingent on the development of a n e of the pa t. Mod rn studies on cultural revivals or on the growt h of int rest in the past concentrate on th ir effects on the middle and upper literate classes who w re also conducting the tudie s (e.g. Cairns and Richards 1988), but given that the revivals were intended to serve the

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differentiated from antiquariani m or manu cript tudy until at least the I 870 's. Any distinction b tween archaeology as material culture studies and history from sources was only evident from the cont xt of th literature. Consequently, some articles discus d did not even relate to material culture , but ar included because they both illustrate attitudes to the study of th past and sometim es compare historical to material culture studies, which is particularl y useful for assessing the comparative releva nce of these disciplines in building the image of the Irish past. The articles were, therefore, analyzed on the basis of their subject matter, style of writing, and intended readership. Th type of publication , institution from which it cam , and som times tandin g of the author , were al o ignificant. Many of th publication s reprinted articles from archa ological journal which provid an opportunity to e what wa thought of gen rat int rest to the public.

cause of popular nationali sm, they could not r ma111 confined to intell ctual . Both lri h r vivals w r preceded by an intellectual literary movement which was stimulat ed by interest in historical ources, but thi explains only th preocc upat ion with hi tory among intellectual s and historian s, not th ffect on th populace. However, a with any soc ial history, despite the high minded id al of Young lrelanders and antiquari ans, it is difficult to a sess the succes or otherwise of the ent rpri in retrospec t, as it depended on several factors other than the ex istence of the discourse. These included lit racy, circulation rates and ava ilabilit y of th publication s. It is noted here, howeve r, that, although there were some religious difference s 17 1, the lri h population was, by comparison to ngland quite literat 172. Thu s, there is a basis for assuming that there wa ome chance of successful education on antiquities 173 •

7.2 The Publications

Access to material i also import ant, but ev n mor difficult to a e than literacy . Circulat ion figur s indicate neither th soc ial eta of r ader , wh r they lived, nor the numb er expo ed to th articles. The IPJ old w II abroad , but not in Ireland. Books were xp n ive and, until the establishment of public librari , reached a limit ed audience , but newspa pers and p nny magaz ines fi Iled the gap . Newspapers such a The Nation were rea d aloud at gatherings and, although large ly for the purpo se of reading Repeal information, O ' Co nnell 's Rep al Association thoughtfully pro vided 300 reading room . One author estimated that ach copy of Th