Donal Lucey
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dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Donal Lucey
@dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
1.6K followers 2.7K following 160 posts
Archaeologist and nerd. Public engagement, social value and immersive approaches. Loves Early Medieval stuff! Member of award-winning Dig The Castle project & @archsengage.bsky.social
Mod of r/AskArchaeology
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dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
So excited to be back with the brilliant volunteers on the 2025 fieldwork season of Dig The Castle! @archsengage.bsky.social

#archaeology #DigTheCastle #community #socialvalue
September 28, 2025 at 3:44 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Archaeologist Belinda Tibbetts tells us what's happening at Trench 1!

#digthecastle #devon #greattorrington #archaeology #communityengagement #festivalofarchaeology #socialvalue #househistory
July 27, 2025 at 10:53 AM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Dig The Castle won the heritage award at the Northern Devon Flourishing Culture Awards! The community was at the heart of the planning and delivery, using archaeology to create a sense of purpose, build cross-generation connections, boost wellbeing and community pride.
🏺 #community #archaeology
A photograph of the stage during the awards ceremony. On the right is a large banner that reads "Northern Devon Flourishing Culture Awards 2025". In front of the banner is a table bearing six glass trophies. To the left of the banner, Emily Wapshott is speaking into a microphone giving an award acceptance speech.
March 29, 2025 at 11:19 AM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Parc le Breos Neolithic Chambered Tomb in the Gower Peninsula, Wales. It seems to be aligned to the midwinter sun as you can see from my squinty face in this photo!

#archaeology #realarchaeology #heritage #Wales #Gower ⚱️ #Neolithic #megalithic
January 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
I joined the lovely folks on the @gwspodcast.bsky.social for some rampant speculation on the future of the renowned historical/fantasy computer game series, Total War. Listen and follow here:
open.spotify.com/episode/6ZmK...

#history #podcast #TotalWar #Warhammer #gaming #nerdculture #archaeogaming
December 22, 2024 at 6:33 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
The Anchorite's Cell in Fore has a complex history: monastic chapel; hermit's cell; medieval tower house; 17th-century mausoleum with a 19th-century makeover. It highlights the fascinating stories that our old buildings can tell.

#IrelandsAncientEast #archaeology #heritage #medieval #history 🏺
A photograph showing the inside of an old religious building. A black and white chequered tile floor leads the eye from the foreground to the background, through a very old stone archway to where a stone altar sits beneath a bright window. To the left and right in the foreground are the 19th century walls of finely cut sandstone blocks and pillars. In the centre of the floor is a memorial slab with a Celtic style cross.
December 10, 2024 at 10:19 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Blessings be upon you all
A photograph of a black cat outlined with a shining halo of light. Her blep is derpy. She has raised a single paw to bless her followers
December 8, 2024 at 11:19 AM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
More than meets the eye! While St Catherine's Chapel in Leixlip might not look like much at first, a closer look reveals architectural fragments salvaged from a medieval priory along with more recent historic graffiti.

#Ireland #Leixlip #archaeology #builtheritage #heritage #medieval #graffiti 🏺
A photo taken on a sunny day showing a ruined stone chapel surrounded by scrub land. The roof is missing and the walls are a patchwork of stone and brick. It looks as though this building has been altered and repaired many times. A close up photograph of some very old wall plaster inscribed with the initials J S. The letters are very neatly carved A close up photograph of wall plaster with black graffiti possibly made with charcoal or pencil. The graffiti appears to be a series of names although the cursive handwriting is difficult to read. Some of the names are prefaced with "Mrs" which suggests that the graffiti is unlikely to be very recent! A photograph of what looks like a medieval stone church window inserted into the wall of this Post-Medieval chapel.
December 1, 2024 at 10:09 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
The impressive defensive banks of the Iron Age promontory fort at Nash Point in South Wales. This area is stuffed with archaeology and beautiful views!

#archaeology #hillfort #Wales #prehistoric #ironage #seaside #Severn
A photograph taken from a clifftop on a sunny day. In the foreground are three rows of grass covered defensive ditches and banks. Beyond at the base of the cliff is a rocky shoreline and the Severn Estuary. In the distance on the left further along the coast is a campsite and a Victorian lighthouse.
November 28, 2024 at 10:53 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
A big thank you to Emily Wapshott of @archsengage.bsky.social for delivering an absolutely fascinating talk about the #DigTheCastle project, to the Bristol and Avon Archaeological Society.

#archaeologistsengage #greattorrington #bristol #archaeology #pubarch #scicomm #engagement #socialvalue
November 25, 2024 at 10:54 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Visiting the 5,000 year-old Loughcrew Cairns is like stepping into another world. The landscape itself conveys a feeling of deep time, where recent religious offerings lie beside artwork carved by unfathomably ancient hands.
#archaeology #neolithic #stoneage #ireland #westmeath #irelandsancienteast
A photograph of the Loughcrew Cairns. In the foreground is a cairn of upright stones which lead the eye uphill to a huge cairn of heaped stone on the skyline. The land in between the cairns is striped by lazy beds which are the remnants of pre-Famine potato farming. A cloudy and brooding sky hangs overhead. A photograph of the view inside the entrance chamber to the main cairn. On the left is a large flat hexagonal stone carved with spiral patterns. Beyond that is a narrow opening into the main chamber of the cairn. A modern steel prop and timbers hold up the lintel. A photograph looking down near the foot of the carved standing stone from the previous photo. The floor of the cairn's entranceway is paved with gravel. In the foreground is a Saint Bridget's Cross woven out of rushes. A photograph of the sweeping view from the hilltop at Loughcrew. Des[ote the cloudy sky the scene is bathed in sunlight that illuminates the lush green of rolling hill leading away from the viewer. The grassy hillsides abound with soft mounds and earthworks which hint at ancient archaeological sites. In the background a patchwork of grasslands and forests stretch away as far as the eye can see. Something about this image kindles in you an urge to explore and discover.
November 21, 2024 at 1:13 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
The medieval parish church of St Quiricus and St Julietta in Tickenham, Somerset, glowing in the sunset. Presumably also pictured: a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow!

#heritage #medieval #church #somerset #archaeology #rainbow
November 19, 2024 at 8:12 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Hello! It is similar to moat in that it is a defensive earthwork, but it wouldn't have been filled with water. This link gives an idea of how it would have looked and here is what it looks like from above. images.app.goo.gl/23qkWLiMmjoQ...
November 18, 2024 at 12:55 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Phwoar look at that for an enclosure ditch! At the pretty impressive Cadbury Camp Iron Age hillfort near Clevedon.
#archaeology #hillfort
November 17, 2024 at 5:56 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Business Cat says "take regular breaks to stare into space."

#cat
August 27, 2024 at 11:44 AM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Delighted to be able to share that myself and Stephen Callaghan have published an article in the summer edition of Archaeology Ireland magazine!

#archaeology #archeology 🏺
A photograph of a magazine article The title reads Aderrig re-evaluating a medieval church and multi-period site using modern technology
June 7, 2024 at 9:14 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
2/2 Talented artist Victoria sketched and painted the archaeology and the dig volunteers. She also made reconstruction images.

Old and new techniques harmonising to create a unique social, cultural archive for the town, which can eventually enrich the exhibitions in the local museum.
#archaeology 🏺
December 4, 2023 at 6:40 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
1/2 One way DIGtheCASTLE enriched the community output of our excavation project was collaborations with other groups and orgs in the area. E.g. the digital recording of our trenches with the students and staff of Petroc College, in Barnstaple.

#communityarchaeology #publicengagement #archaeology 🏺
An archaeological trench approximately 4 metres long and 2 metres wide. There are three people in the trench, taking photographs with digital cameras. One person is lying down, one is kneeling and the other is standing up.
December 4, 2023 at 6:38 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Those are lovely! Looks like some inspiration from mid 20th-century Irish coins
October 13, 2023 at 11:07 AM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Dig The Castle in Great Torrington is done! It has been such a rewarding experience for the staff, volunteers and schoolkids. The best part is that we managed to find the lost castle! ⚱️ 🏺
October 8, 2023 at 5:43 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
This little guy ended up in one of our trenches. Safely relocated him to a nice wild area nearby! Great Torrington is absolutely packed with wildlife. It must be down to the huge area of common land around the town. ⚱️
October 3, 2023 at 7:15 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Archaeology dig kits ready to go for the local kids - choose your kit!
September 29, 2023 at 8:34 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
A fantastic first day for Archaeologists Engage's first community dig in Great Torrington in Devon, with G. Torrington Futures Group! ⚱️
September 23, 2023 at 4:26 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
A fantastic first day for Archaeologists Engage's first community dig at Great Torrington in Devon, with One Great Torrington! ⚱️
September 23, 2023 at 4:19 PM
dodoarchaeology.bsky.social
Had a great day out at Bristol's Brilliant Archaeology Festival. Lots of cool stalls with archaeological finds, re-enactors and you could even have a go at making your own Roman pot! It was slightly alarming to almost get caught by a charging Roman shield wall 🤣
September 21, 2023 at 8:56 AM