Archaeology 360: Killora Church & Graveyard, Co. Galway



There’s something of an inevitability about it … if I start talking about Killogilleen [here], you can be sure that I’ll soon get around to blathering on about Killora. So, as I was pottering about east Galway with my 3D 360 Vuze camera, it was no surprise that I’d follow up my visit to Killogilleen with one to Killora. What I say about one I repeat about the other … there’s noting ostensibly special about these sites – to a greater or lesser degree they’re pretty much typical of rural west of Ireland church sites. Both Killora & Killogilleen have standing church ruins dating from around the late 15th century, with tantalizing hints of earlier activity, possibly going back to the 13th century. What sets them apart from others is that fact that they’ve been the focus of (sporadic) research for nearly 30 years. I’m reminded of an episode of the TV show QI that asked the question ‘Where Is the Best Place to Discover A New Species?’ [here]. In amongst answers both comedic and plain wrong, mention is made of the 18th century naturalist Gilbert White who is paraphrased as saying that ‘nature is so full and so varied that if you want to find the place with the most variety it’s the place you most study’. What White may have said of the natural world applies just as well to heritage – the most interesting & special places are the ones that are most studied, no matter how ‘ordinary’ they seem. As part of that ongoing work, I want to make these sites accessible and visitable to the widest audience, so I give you this immersive 360-degree, 3D tour of this so-much-more-than ordinary site.

You can view this 360-degree video on an ordinary browser or on the dedicated YouTube app for your smartphone. However, for best results we recommend the more immersive experience that comes with an Oculus/Google Cardboard headset. Please feel free to Like and Share the video and Subscribe to the Archaeology 360 channel. If you’re feeling peculiarly generous and wish to help purchase snacks to sustain the Chapples Minor in the field, please drop something in the Tip Jar on the top right of this page.

Some of the bits & pieces I’ve produced over the years that include Killora:

Book:

The church of prayers: gravestone inscriptions from the church of Killora, Craughwell, Co. Galway

Paper:

A Statistical Analysis and Preliminary Classification of Gravestones from Craughwell, Co. Galway

Lecture:

An archaeologist among the gravestones: reading two Irish graveyards

Video:

Killora Graveyard, Craughwell, Co. Galway

Blog posts:

Killora & Killogilleen graveyards in Craughwell, Co. Galway

Workingman’s Dead: Notes on some 17th to 19th century memorials, from the graveyards of Killora and Killogilleen, Craughwell, Co. Galway, Ireland. Part I

Workingman’s Dead: Notes on some 17th to 19th century memorials, from the graveyards of Killora and Killogilleen, Craughwell, Co. Galway, Ireland. Part II

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