American archaeologists dig deep to discover lost village of Inishbofin

Archaeologists from the United States have discovered a lost village on the island of Inishbofin – as mystery surrounds the reason why it was vacated by all of its residents in the first place.

The discovery of the village was made by the team of ten archaeologists from the University of Notre Dame in Boston, which also funded the project, and it has been the source of intrigue for both islanders and emigrants from ‘Bofin.

But what is even more curious is the fact that the village only existed for around 20 years and certainly not more than 30 years – according to findings made at the site on the north-west of the island.

The remains of 14 houses were discovered in the tiny village which dates back to the early 1800s and was possibly vacated sometime between 1820 and 1830. But the reason for this has not yet been determined.

“That is the great mystery,” admitted senior archaeologist Ian Kuijt from the University of Notra Dame who said that they “stumbled” across the village during explorations of The Portins area of Inishbofin.

The crew arrived in early June but it is not their first visit to the island. They have carried out works on both Inishbofin and Inishark since 2006 as part of their study into Ireland before the Famine.

The crew comprised Ian and his wife Meredith Chesson, along with several of their students from Notre Dame, most of whom were veterans of Ian’s previous investigations in the area as part of his Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Coast project.

While exploring the rugged north-west part of the island, the trained eyes of the archaeologists noticed a formation of stones which indicated to them that houses had been located there and further examination revealed a small village in which around 100 people possibly resided.

For full story see this week’s Connacht Tribune