Natural & Human Heritages Lecture Series Vodcasts

In the spring of 2014 the School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI Galway, presented a lunchtime lecture series at Galway City Museum exploring the relationship between archaeology, geography and the natural world.

To enjoy the vodcasts – video podcasts – please click on the links below:

Introduction to the Series
Prof. Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Life on a Burren Mountain Top in the Neolithic/Bronze Age
Why did people in the Neolithic/Bronze Age build 150 circular houses and a number of complex ritual monuments on the summit of Turlough Hill, in the Burren, Co. Clare?
Dr Stefan Bergh

Making Sacred: How the Landscape of Tara was Made Sacred in the Early Centuries AD
Described by WB Yeats, Douglas Hyde and George Moore as “probably the most consecrated spot in Ireland” (Letters, Times, 1902), how exactly was Tara made sacred and how was its sacredness maintained from generation to generation?
Conor Newman

The Winter Storms of 2013-14
Damage from recent storms has resulted in calls for increased protection on our coasts. Understanding the mechanisms of flooding and erosion, and the role our natural heritage plays, should be central to any long-lasting measures aimed at protecting our coasts.
Dr Kevin Lynch

Why Build a Wedge Tomb Here? A Study of Monuments, Landscape & Identity around 2000 BC
Variations in the distribution and scale of wedge tombs on the west coast of Ireland may reveal a pattern of clan affiliations, status competition, and enduring links to an important and ancient locale.
Dr Carleton Jones

Pollen: Unlocking the Secrets of Past Environments
An overview of how fossil pollen, preserved for millennia in lake muds, can ‘document’ environmental and land use change in western Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age.
Dr Karen Molloy

Finn mac Cumaill’s Places – Natural Resources & Land Use
Landforms and archaeological monuments that are named after the mythical hero Finn mac Cumaill and his fían are associated with particular natural resources and land use in Gaelic Ireland.
Prof. Elizabeth FitzPatrick

Beaches in Galway: Our Last Defence against Climate Change
Galway’s identity is intertwined with the coast. Is this a co-dependent relationship or are we treating it like a friend with benefits, with no long-term future as climate changes?
Dr Eugene Farrell

Against Heritages
A critical analysis of the politics of heritage and conservation from a cross-European perspective in an attempt to question assumed ideologies and practices and provoke new debates and reflections.
Dr. José A. Cortés-Vázquez

Development, Environment, Heritage: Listening to Communities
A review of research over fifteen years supporting communities struggling against developments, from wind farms to large dams and reservoirs, with often devastating impacts in Ireland, the Middle East and Latin America.
Maggie Ronayne