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Digitising Irish towns
New technology developed at the University of Bradford has created digital twins of two historic walled towns on the island of Ireland: Kilmallock in Co. Limerick, Ireland (RIGHT), and Derry/Londonderry in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This new scanning technique is able to capture everything from towers, walls, and gateways to hidden roof spaces, and the models can now be explored online on Sketchfab at https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/kilma24-uav-0856e2639ab146fdb200f5 c87924c3b2 and https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/derry-uav-mesh-da901627c77b4855b019fee037a3c206.
Professor Andrew Wilson, who led the project, said: ‘This collaboration between the UK and Ireland is about more than technology: it’s about connecting communities and preserving heritage in a way that’s accessible to everyone. By creating detailed digital twins of Derry and Kilmallock, we’re safeguarding centuries of history while opening up opportunities for education, tourism, and regeneration.’
New finds at the Ness
During the final season of digging at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney last summer, Time Team conducted an extensive geophysical survey of the site. The results revealed a number of previously unknown Neolithic buildings, some of which appear to be monumental in scale and greatly expand the complex’s known footprint.
Based on these findings, Time Team will return to the site, along with the Ness team, this summer to conduct one more digging season; the results are expected to feature in a Time Team special broadcast later in 2026.
CA at Paestum
The 27th annual Mediterranean Exchange for Archaeological Tourism met at Paestum, Italy, at the end of October and start of November to celebrate archaeological and cultural heritage.
Together with archaeologists, heritage managers, and tourism professionals, CA visited to hear the results of the annual International Archaeological Discovery Award ‘Palmyra’, which is presented in collaboration with media partners, including CA and its sister-magazine CWA.
This year, the award recognised the discovery of an ancient Minoan building in Crete, dating back more than 4,000 years, and was accepted by Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sport of Greece. The project also won the ‘Special Award’.
For more information about the other four shortlisted projects (which included sandstone statues from Cambodia; the cargo from a Bronze Age shipwreck found off Israel; a 5,000-year-old ceremonial temple in Peru; and a Roman colonnaded street in Turkey), see www.borsaturismoarcheologico.it/en/premio-khaled-al-asaad.
For more details of next year’s Exchange, which will run from 29 October – 1 November 2026, see www.borsaturismoarcheologico.it.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka
