EDITOR Sharon Greene (editor@archaeologyireland.ie) EDITORIAL TEAM Gabriel Cooney, Tom Condit, Emer Condit (copy-editor), Nicholas Maxwell, Una MacConville, Brian Williams, Chris Corlett, Michael Connolly, Aidan O’Sullivan NEWS (news@archaeologyireland.ie) PUBLISHING MANAGER Nick Maxwell ADVERTISING AND HERITAGE GUIDE MANAGER Una MacConville (una@wordwell.ie) HERITAGE GUIDE EDITOR Tom Condit PRODUCTION Niamh Power SUBSCRIPTIONS & ADMINISTRATION Carol McManus & Helen Dunne (subs@archaeologyireland.ie) TYPESETTING AND LAYOUT © Wordwell Ltd Cover design: Ger Garland PRINTERS W&G Baird, Antrim PUBLISHERS Wordwell Ltd, Unit 9, 78 Furze Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18. Tel: 01-2933568 Email: office@wordwellbooks.com PATRONS OF ARCHAEOLOGY IRELAND Isabel Bennett, Patrick V. Brown, James Butler, Pauline Coakley, Brendan Connors, John Cruse, George Cunningham, Richard Gem, Claire Gogarty, Christine Grant, Eoin Grogan, Amy Harris, Elizabeth Heckett, Patricia Kennedy, Seán Kirwan, Pamela Lewis, Don Lydon, Ian Magee, Jeremy Milln, Michael Moore, Harold Mytum, David M. Nolan, Micheal Ó Ciosáin, Gerry O'Leary, Celie O'Rahilly, Emer O'Sullivan, Eoin O'Connor, Bruce Proudfoot, Brian Scane, Christian Schaffalitzky, Conor Skehan, David Sweetman, Miriam Tarbett, Máirin Uí Scolaidhe, John Waddell and Patrick Wallace. SUBSCRIPTION RATES See page 59.

Editorial

Winter 2021 Volume 35 No. 4 Issue No.138

Archaeologists often roll their eyes at newspaper headlines claiming that a coin hoard or other discovery has ‘rewritten history’. This isn’t necessarily because such claims are false. One could argue that every discovery has the potential to add to our knowledge and understanding of the past. It’s more the case that overuse of the phrase, which is rarely accompanied by a good explanation of how the find has rewritten history, has devalued it. This in turn devalues the work of the archaeologists (almost as much as that other headline trope, ‘Archaeologists baffled by …’!). That is why it is such a pleasure to have an article in this issue that reclaims the expression, with due explanation and context. Michelle Comber and Adam Parsons share the discovery of what is potentially the earliest ink pen from Ireland, as well as the creation of a reproduction. The humble pen—an artefact that truly inhabits the crossroads between archaeology and history.

Archaeology and history also meet in two other articles in this issue. You can read about the QUB Centre for Community Archaeology’s investigation of a famine road in Fermanagh and how the archaeological evidence fits with the historical records. In addition, excavations and geophysical survey on Macdermot’s Rock in Lough Key are helping to shed light on a tragic event recorded in the annals in the twelfth century.

If ever we needed proof that every cloud has a silver lining—even this lingering viral cloud—it can be found in the work of Frank Prendergast and colleagues in the Boyne Valley. Last year, the necessity of cancelling the crowds that usually turn up for the winter solstice at Newgrange was seized upon as an opportunity to record the phenomenon of the sunlight entering the chamber in greater detail than ever before. The results—part of which you can see on our cover—are most interesting.

As we approach the end of another challenging year for archaeology, it is heartening to see the resilience of many in the sector. Research, outreach and publication are still strong, and we can look forward to more of this, as well as much-needed monument conservation work, thanks to the increased allocation for heritage in the government’s 2022 budget.

I’d like to wish all our readers, be you archaeologists or fans of archaeology, a Happy Solstice, a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

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Winter 2021

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