'Hugely exciting' prehistoric artifacts uncovered during hunt for long-lost Irish castle

Archaeologists successful Northern Ireland went retired seeking a 400-year-old castle — and ended up uncovering things that are overmuch older, acknowledgment to the small kids moving with them.

In an October statement, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) said that its archaeologists conducted a two-week excavation to uncover Derrygonnelly Castle successful Fermanagh. 

Nearly 250 schoolchildren — immoderate from a girls Lego operation squad — and 35 big volunteers helped hunt for the once-magnificent operation that has eluded archaeologists truthful far.

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Built successful the 17th century, Derrygonnelly Castle was abandoned by the 1800s. QUB prof Eileen Murphy told Fox News Digital the operation "was erased from the landscape" and mostly forgotten.

During the dig, students recovered galore artifacts from the 19th century, including clay tube fragments, a imaginable half-penny from the Glorious Revolution and a 17th-century ditch built to support the castle portion it was being built.

Both volunteers and schoolchildren joined archaeologists successful a two-week effort to uncover Derrygonnelly Castle's long-lost traces. (Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland)

But the astir astonishing findings were the oldest. These were flint and chert tools from the Early Mesolithic era, implicit 9,000 years ago.

"The quality of these tells america that these hunter-gatherer radical were really surviving astatine this determination and astir apt had a seasonal campy there," the prof said.

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Murphy described the finds arsenic "hugely breathtaking and unexpected."

She added, "These are the archetypal Early Mesolithic remains to person been recovered successful County Fermanagh to date."

The excavation revealed flint and chert tools much than 9,000 years old, specified arsenic the 1 supra — astonishing adjacent seasoned archaeologists connected site. (Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland)

"To adhd to the excitement, we besides recovered grounds of a prehistoric circular house," she added.

"We tin day this to the Early Bronze Age period, astir 4,000 years ago, due to the fact that we recovered a ample fragment of diagnostic pottery astatine the basal of 1 of the post-holes of the house."

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Given that the 17th-century artifacts look to beryllium high-status items — including the stem of a vino goblet and imported pottery from England — Murphy believes galore of them were associated with the castle.

Historical accounts of the castle amusement that it had a "pretty garden," an orchard filled with effect trees and a expansive three-story tower.

The find of a antiaircraft 17th-century ditch offered caller penetration into however the archetypal builders protected the castle. (Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland)

"It was fantastic that the volunteers recovered truthful galore artifacts," said Murphy.

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"This is an denotation that the castle analyzable would person been a bustling spot successful its heyday, since it near truthful galore worldly remains for america to discover."

Murphy besides credited the Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland (CAPNI), a National Lottery Heritage Fund initiative, for making the excavation possible.

"It was fantastic that the volunteers recovered truthful galore artifacts," said a professor. (Community Archaeology Programme Northern Ireland)

"It helped springiness the section radical a consciousness of pridefulness successful their landscape."

She added that she hoped the children progressive "will retrieve this feeling, and admit and attraction for the monuments they encounter, perchance connected their ain land, successful the future."

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"There was a large consciousness of camaraderie [during] the excavation, and it seems to person been a affirmative acquisition that volition person enhanced the wide well-being of those involved."