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Subterranean Skye: Exploring the enduring significance of High Pasture Cave

Discovered in 1972 and excavated between 2004 and 2010, High Pasture Cave on the island of Skye has proven to have been an enduring hub of ritual activity for 900 years, from the Bronze Age to the late Iron Age. Few cave sites in Europe have produced evidence for recurrent use over such a long period of time. As Chris Catling explains, the newly published excavation report raises questions about what this site can tell us about the meaning and use of caves, and underground spaces in general, during later prehistory.

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St Aidan’s settlement: Finding evidence of medieval Ferns

In the year AD 580, St Aidan crossed the Irish Sea from St Davids in Pembrokeshire (where he had been studying as St David’s favourite pupil) to Rosslare in County Wexford. Eighteen years later, he established a new monastery at Ferns, in the same county. This grew to become one of south-east Ireland’s most important settlements, a seat of royal power and the site of an Augustinian abbey. Little was known about the early history, however, until the Irish Archaeology Field School launched a major research project in June 2021. With commendable speed, the first fruits of that research have just been published, as Chris Catling reports.