Archaeologists "Used to destroy
heritage",
- conference told
By - Charlie Taylor.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on excavations for the
controversial M3 motorway feared they would be "sacked,
blacklisted or bullied out of their profession" for not
supporting the building of the chosen route, it was
claimed yesterday.
Speaking at a debate on the motorway near Tara at the
sixth World Archaeological Congress at UCD, Maggie
Ronayne, a lecturer in the department of archaeology at
NUI, Galway, said pressure was put on site directors and
field teams by archaeologists employed by the National
Roads Authority (NRA).
"Lip service was paid to archaeology, but archaeologists
were used to destroy our heritage", said Ms. Ronayne.
"From the point of view of archaeology, the route chosen
by the NRA was the least desirable, and other routes were
not properly considered because they were not profitable
for developers".
Ms. Ronayne, who recently claimed that reports submitted
to the NRA had been altered, said the building of the
motorway posed serious ethical questions for
archaeologists worldwide. She would be asking congress to
pass a resolution calling for the rerouting of the
M3.
She said the Minister for the Environment's decision to
support the nomination of the Hill of Tara as a United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) world heritage site, given the construction of
the motorway, could have serious implications for other
world sites.
A number of organisations, including the NRA, the
campaign group TaraWatch, and the Department of the
Environment's chief archaeologist, Brian Duffy, spoke at
the debate.
While many speakers expressed their opposition to the
motorway, it was acknowledged that there had been
benefits associated with it.
These included the discovery of a number of
archaeological finds such as the Lismullin monument.
According to Mary Deevy, a senior archaeologist with the
NRA, some €30 million had been spent on archaeology
research related to the Hill of Tara since work began on
the motorway.
Mr. Duffy said it was impossible to consider building a
major road anywhere in the country without it having an
impact.
Laura Grealish of TaraWatch called on the congress to
pass a resolution demanding a stop to work on the M3 in
its present route.
"It wouldn't be legally binding but it would send out a
powerful message. I think it would make Ireland the
embarrassment of the global archaeological
community".
© The Irish Times, 4th. July 2008.
Related Articles:
Statement
on Recent M3 Archaeological Reports.
Tara campaigners in bid to have M3 motorway ruling struck
out.
My findings on Tara were altered, says
archaeologist.
The State We're in on the Eve of World
Archaeological Congress (WAC) 6.
