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Yes Jabber it seems to be finally happening, someone is listening at last

If this type of archaeological practise is accepted and allowed to happen here in Ireland, it will have worldwide repercussions....especially in more isolated communities where intimidation will happen without cameras present and online bulletins updated.... indigenous people who's voices may go unheard.

But I'm delighted to be able to tell you I just got news that the WAC executive has passed the resolution for the re-internment of the ancestoral remains in the sacred valley. The results of the other resolutions will be made known as soon as word reaches us here.

le grá agus solas x[+]x

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WAC press release on Tara below, sent to me by the senior rep on the WAC executive for northern europe. Please forward to all the Tara campaigns and others who may not have access to email.

thanks,
Maggie

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Maggie Ronayne
Lecturer in Archaeology
National University of Ireland, Galway
Galway
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)91 493701
Email: maggie.ronayne@nuigalway.ie

Media Release

TARA'S WORLD HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE

Following the largest ever international gathering of archaeologists in Dublin, Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress has released a statement expressing its opposition to any further development alongside the new stretch of motorway in the wider landscape zone surrounding the historical site of Tara in Co Meath, Ireland."Tara has significance far beyond Ireland itself," said Professor Claire Smith, President of the World Archaeological Congress. "Its iconic significance derives from its unique cultural character, as situated in a broader landscape. The World Archaeological Congress strongly encourages the Irish Government to instigate formal protection measures for this area, and to consider nominating Tara for inscription as a World Heritage site.""Prior to the holding of the Sixth World Archaeological Congress here in Ireland, we sent two senior representatives to look at the issue of the motorway, " said Professor Claire Smith. "They found that all the archaeological work had been done to the highest professional standards." However, during the Congress a number of competing and often contradictory claims were made and the World Archaeological Congress has now commissioned a report on the Tara discussions. The World Archaeological Congress stressed that its report would not interfere with the legal and consultative planning process already completed in Ireland. "We do not question the validity of the planning process undertaken in Ireland. Our purpose is to learn lessons for the future and for other countries with issues surrounding development archaeology," said Professor Smith. "There are many strong opinions about Tara and it is important that valid claims receive due attention, and that misinformation be sifted out. This can only be done through a considered study," Professor Smith said.Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried. The World Archaeological Congress notes the significant adverse impact that motorways and other forms of development can have on valuable cultural landscapes."Throughout the world, developments such as motorways can have significant adverse impact on cultural landscapes," said Professor Smith. "Cultural heritage needs to be factored into the planning process from the beginning.""In order to address these issues from a global perspective the World Archaeological Congress will be holding an Inter-Congress with the theme "Rethinking relations of Archaeology and Development."The Inter-Congress on archaeology and development is likely to be held in Lund, Sweden, in 2009.

Further Information: Professor Claire Smith

Mobile: 0872 698 353 (Ireland)

Email: claire.smith@flinders.edu.au

Dr Jon Price

Executive member

Email: jon@mnemosophy.force9.co.uk

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Archaeology needs to recover its core principles and ethics

OPINION: There was lively debate on the M3 motorway at the recent World

Archaeological Congress in Dublin but also disturbing developments about
the congress itself, writes Maggie Ronayne .

The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) was founded in 1986 when
archaeologists decided to implement the UN-sanctioned cultural boycott
of apartheid South Africa.

Yet at the congress that concluded in Dublin on July 4th, there was an
attempt to co-opt the profession to serve development by multinationals.
The presence of the US military shocked many, as did sponsorship by Rio
Tinto, the mining and exploration company.

The programme for the Dublin congress intended to ignore Tara and the
M3, the biggest controversy in Irish archaeology since Wood Quay in 1979
- not surprising given that the National Roads Authority (NRA) was one
of its sponsors. I pressed for debate and campaigners urged me on.
A Tara panel, scene of stormy presentations from various sides, did
eventually occur. A good precedent was set: campaigners participated and proposed resolutions. Voting on resolutions opposing cultural
destruction by the M3 was too close to call more than once and they were
forwarded to the WAC's assembly for discussion. On July 11th, the WAC
issued a press release on Tara and the M3 which said: "We do not
question the validity of the planning process undertaken in Ireland."

Many of us clearly do.

My article in Public Archaeology about road development in Ireland and
corruption in development planning processes was widely circulated. Most
archaeologists are now employed by private companies on temporary,
short-term contracts. As in other countries, this has gone in tandem
with increasingly bureaucratic, corporate control of universities and
pressure on academics to orient our teaching to prioritise the needs of
industry.

Crucial questions of professional ethics and standards, particularly our
accountability to the community, are sidelined. Colleagues in the
private sector give regular reports of bad practice and cutting corners
on roads projects, including the M3. I quoted an archaeologist who
directed test-trenching on the M3 route: "A number of times, I was told
to change an interpretation which served to lessen the potential or
numbers of sites."

Reports from this fieldwork informed the Minister for the Environment's
decision on salvage excavation licences for the M3.

The article provoked international debate and an outpouring via e-mail
and phone; people seemed to need to get out of their system what they
had swallowed for years.

Field colleagues contacted me to confirm they also had experienced bad
practices on the road projects but, for the most part, those on
precarious, temporary contracts don't come forward; they fear being
sacked, blacklisted or bullied out of their profession.

There is lip service to heritage but the Government tends to protect the
roads industry while archaeologists are used to destroy archaeology -
not only physical remains but also our profession's core principles.
There are new structures in place that invite us to contravene basic
standards and enable bad practice. For example, a developer's
archaeologists oversee those doing the testing for potential archaeology
on a road route; they have sight of, and admit they may comment on or
edit, test-trenching reports. Notwithstanding the best intentions of the
NRA's archaeologists, the developer employs them and there is a built-in
conflict of interest. This needs changing.

Much is made of whether archaeology could stop projects like the M3. My
experience working with communities in campaigns against cultural
destruction in various countries is that archaeology alone rarely stops
developers.

Problems with archaeology on the M3 should surely be investigated but by
a people's inquiry (facilitated by academia perhaps) also looking at
reported land speculation and toll profits, failure to consider cheaper
and more effective public transport or energy provision, the
circumstances surrounding the sale of national resources to the private
sector, attempts to divide local communities and failure to properly
consult and inform them, involvement of multinationals with links to
corrupt development elsewhere or profiteering in war zones, and an
investigation of all the professional structures and the often strange
planning decisions that permit disputed developments.

These are issues that communities all over Ireland and worldwide
struggle with as they fight for their lives, livelihoods, land and
culture. The M3 construction and indeed other disputed developments such as Shell's pipeline and refinery in Mayo, must stop while this inquiry
happens; we have won the battle to halt far bigger developments - it is
never too late.

The Tara debate was the talk of the congress; many international
colleagues expressed shock at the remarks of Brian Duffy, the State's
chief archaeologist: "I don't care where the money comes from if it pays
for good archaeological work."

Many felt that the partisan nature of the State sector indicated that
few field colleagues in the private sector would consider reporting
instances of bad practice. Following the debate on Tara and several
similar cases from other countries, WAC's final plenary passed the
following resolution: "Noting the increasing role of the private
sector/cultural resource management in the profession, the World
Archaeological Congress expresses serious concern at the potential for
erosion of standards and professional ethics. The congress calls for
explicit inclusion of these concerns in its Code of Ethics. The congress
calls on all colleagues to support those field archaeologists working in
the private sector, who are striving to maintain professional standards
in difficult conditions."

There have been recent reports on the reversal of privatisation in New
Zealand, reflecting a growing trend. There is a similar feeling in
archaeology that independent regulation of this sector is needed with
some advocating a return to archaeology as a wholly public sector
service. Others besides me think that Ireland might provide a model.
As recession hits and the corporations seek others who will do the work
for less, who will defend our standards and values based on the autonomy
of professions? What will remain of our cultural roots, so vital to
sustaining this island's communities?

Those defending our heritage are not opposing development; rather, we
support communities pressing for development which meets their needs.
One thing is sure: embedding ourselves with destroyers of culture and
communities, with its brown envelope culture, supports neither
professions, nor communities, nor cultural heritage nor this island's
future. Ireland and the wider world are in a "state of chassis" once
again, and it is time to speak out.

• Maggie Ronayne is a lecturer in archaeology at NUI Galway

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Kitty due any day now...

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Good luck and best wishes to Kitty and her future family!

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Righteousness will always prevail!

Tara Campaigners worldwide are supporting a petition to the Irish Government calling on them to re-inter the remains of individuals whose graves have been desecrated by the ongoing construction of the M3 Motorway in the Gabhra Valley near the historic Hill of Tara in Co. Meath. The petition went live on Saturday 19th. July.

Campaigners demand that the ancient remains be reburied in a dignified manner and as closely as possible to the ceremonial layout of the original graveyards. It is estimated that over 60 bodies were disturbed and removed from the Collierstown site and over 27 from Ardsallagh to make way for the double-tolled M3 Motorway. Over the last 15 years of the Celtic Tiger, thousands of bodies have been removed from the earth and stored in warehouses.

The Gabhra Valley is the putative site of the last battle of the Fianna in 284 A.D. and they were said to be buried where they fell along with Cairpre Lifechair king of Tara son of Cormac mac Airt.

The current campaign to have the bodies reburied has been given added impetus by the backing received from the recent World Archaeological Congress held in Dublin who said as part of their press release (July 11th. '08):

"Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried".

This was the first World Archaeological Congress to be held in Ireland. It was attended by over 1,800 archaeologists, native peoples and international scholars from 74 nations.

The organisers of the petition, Tomás Mac Cormaic and Carmel Diviney said: Carmel Diviney said: "We hope that this petition is the beginning of a debate on the ethics of this archaeological 'resolution' of our ancestors, the indigenous people of Ireland. This debate and respect for our own indigenous people, ourselves, is long overdue and that this puts added pressure on the Irish Govt. to re-inter the bodies".

People are requested to sign the petition here: Tara reburials Petition.

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A lil bird told me that security had finished up at Rath Lugh on Friday. So I got up early and took my camera over to the esker that forms the base and foundation of the Rath Lugh national monument. I hadn't been able to gain access to the site since the day of the eviction back in April so I was interested to see what had happened since my last visit.

Back then they'd said they were going to put a crib wall in place (where that horrible spiked metal fence was errected) to prevent damage to the monument and stop the delicate esker eroding further. There was no crib wall and no sign that work had even begun on it.

It was a sad sight to behold until I spotted this flower. Months back during a small ceremony with the kids we'd scattered seeds to represent the healing of this terrible scar across our sacred landscape. If ever I needed a positive sign it was today.

Go raimh mÃ*le mhaith agat x[+]x

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Very interesting, and inspiring story. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. I always hate when nature is destroyed for greed and it's beauty is replaced with cement jungles.

Keep us updated, because I'll be keeping a close eye.

Lulu I really wish there was something I could do, I have sign the petition.... this really makes me sick to the stomach

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LOVE THE ONE YOUR WITH xxxx

Hang in there Lulu! Right will win out!

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Righteousness will always prevail!

Thankyou for your support but this isn't just a case of our natural landscape being destroyed - which in itself is awful. This is about the destruction of numerous ancient heritage sites in one of the most culturally and archaeologically significant places in the world, not to mention the abhorrant desecration of the final resting place of our ancestors. The Hill of Tara (Temair in gaeilge) was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland. 142 High Kings reigned from this place which predates the pyramids and stonehenge.
Laws were changed to allow national monuments to be destroyed (they call it 'Preservation by Record') if deemed to be in the greater interest of the people (ofcourse they mean 'big business'). At a time when we are only just beginning to understand and appreciate how these many sites relate to each other (alot of these places have clear astronomical alignments) the knowledge that's being lost to this so called 'progress' is monumental.

Kiwi and everyone else who took the time to sign the petition, thankyou from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate the support.

Tee, I hope and pray you're right. Go raimh mÃ*le mhaith agat a chara

x[+]x

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The beautiful Jamie Woon singing Brian'Yap'Barry's (pinkpunk) song 'Spirits'

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Well I wouldn't say he's beautiful......but the song was awesome! Thanks for sharing.

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Righteousness will always prevail!

Oh he's beautiful alright ::sighs my daughter wants to marry him...this guy is just 21 and he's gonna be huge Tee. He's fab

Also both himself and Yap gave awesome tracks for the Tara album, so hearing Jamie do one of Yap's song and for it to sound so amazing gives me such a rush. Watch out for him.

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Some really nice pics on this thread. Thanks for posting

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Don't bother asking me if we should load another bowl. The anwser is and always will be YES