Excavations at Rathgall Hillfort Amplify Archaeology Podcast

Amplify Archaeology Podcast

Excavations at Rathgall Hillfort Amplify Archaeology Podcast

April 12, 2025

Excavations at Rathgall Hillfort

Dig into the Story in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 46 with Dr Katharina Becker

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil is joined by Dr Katharina Becker to dig into the story of Rathgall Hillfort and the groundbreaking excavations by Professor Barry Raftery.

Located in the borderlands of County Wicklow and Carlow, Rathgall is one of the most well known of Ireland’s hillforts. The story of this truly monumental site was uncovered by Professor Barry Raftery over the course of a number of seasons of excavations in the late 1960s and 1970s. The digs revealed evidence of high status metalwork, cremation and burial, and how the site has been a place of significance for millennia. Although Professor Raftery published aspects of the site primarily in the 1970s, he sadly passed away before he could finalise a comprehensive account.

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, I had the opportunity to dig into the story of Rathgall with Dr Katharina Becker, the co-author of a fantastic new Wordwell publication A Hillfort Through Time. This new book brings together all of Professor Raftery’s work, and maintains his thoughts and ideas about the site, skilfully augmented and recontextualized with contemporary evidence and theory.

As we chat, Katharina discusses the fascinating archaeological discoveries, and what Rathgall can tell us about Bronze Age Ireland, whether we can still call Rathgall a hillfort, and the incredible legacy of the late Professor Barry Raftery.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast is sponsored by Tuatha, this is our online membership with a growing community of like-minded people who love exploring Ireland’s sites, landscapes and heritage. You can find out more and start your own Irish archaeological adventure at tuatha.ie.

AMPLIFY ARCHAEOLOGY PODCAST

Title: Round Towers

Duration: 68 mins.

Summary:

Dr Katharina Becker joins us in this episode to discuss Professor Barry Raftery’s excavations at Rathgall.

Excavations at Rathgall Hillfort – Key Discussion Points and Show Notes

Introduction to Rathgall and its context – 1 min 50 secs
Professor Barry Raftery and his legacy in Irish archaeology – 3 min 05 secs
Was there much awareness about Rathgall amongst antiquarians? – 6 min 39 secs
Why did Barry choose to excavate at Rathgall? – 8 min 10 secs
How did the excavations begin and how were they funded? – 11 min 55 secs
The seasons at Rathgall – 13 min 30 secs
Was the plan to do multiple seasons there from the outset? – 16 min 05 secs
The earliest evidence at Rathgall – 17 min 28 secs
Bronze Age Rathgall – 18 min 57 secs
The ramparts – 22 mins 51 secs
Can we really call Rathgall a hillfort?– 31 mins 21 secs
Transformation through fire – metalworking and cremation – 32 mins 46 secs
Metalworking and production – 37 mins 30 secs
The astonishing gold-mounted glass bead and other items of personal dress – 37 mins 27 secs
Potential sources of gold for Bronze Age Ireland – 43 mins 07 secs
The Iron Age – 45 mins 28 secs
Early Medieval and Medieval Rathgall– 49 mins 30 secs
What is the significance of Rathgall? – 51 mins 32 secs
The importance of charcoal and environmental analysis – 57 mins 40 secs
What was the impetus for the book, and what was the process of working on it like? – 1 hour 1 min

Show notes and links to further information

I highly recommend the publication, A Hillfort Through Time: Excavations at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow by Barry Raftery and Katharina Becker. You can order it directly from the publisher Wordwell here.
It appears to be out of print now, but you can still find copies of Barry’s landmark book Pagan Celtic Ireland: The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age circulating out there. The terrible all-encompassing website named after a South American River might have it. But if you can, try your local bookshop or local library first.
Incidentally if you’d like to see something lovely, you can see an image of the incredible Milmorane Bead here that got a brief mention. It was found as part of a small hoard in a bog in County Cork. It really is special, and it is the only thing close to the gold mounted glass bead found at Rathgall. I always marvel at the intricate skill needed to work at that tiny scale.
I hope you enjoyed the show, please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
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