Who Needs Experts? by John Schofield

Author:John Schofield [Schofield, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138248182
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2016-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 8.4

The selected route of the M3 motorway past Tara

Test excavations along the routeway began in March 2004, yielding some 160-odd hitherto unknown archaeological sites, the excavation of which took place in 2005–7. The majority of these sites were seemingly of relatively little significance in and of themselves, though their location in the vicinity of Tara bestowed additional value on them. By common consent, the most important new site to emerge was an Iron Age timber circle at Lismullin, about 2km northeast of the Hill (O’Connell 2007). So fragmentary were its remains that, once exposed at all, their survival was imperilled by weather. The site was declared a National Monument by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government in June 2007, and, advised by an expert committee convened especially to consider this one site, he directed that it be excavated. The decision to excavate seems incontrovertibly sensible, but was apparently not without its detractors. M3-opponent Maggie Ronayne, with reasoning which continues to elude me, articulated an (the?) oppositional view:

The state used the occasion of an examination of the [Lismullin] site by this expert committee as a go-ahead for the motorway, overcoming the apparent obstacle of a highly significant national monument on the route. Committee members recommended continued excavation rather than preservation in situ, guided by concern for the delicate condition of the site, particularly after heavy rain. The unfortunate consequence was that after excavation finished, the “problem” of a national monument on the route had been removed as if excavation were all that was required; the site was handed over for the start of road construction much earlier than campaigners anticipated. Some campaigners feel that it was a mistake that technical archaeological concerns about one site were allowed to dominate – an indication of how careful those of us trying to preserve culture from destruction have to be not to have our own critique used against our own purpose. (Ronayne 2008: 120)

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