Thursday, my Irish Heritage Studies group went on a trip to the Athlone Castle. It's a castle (in Athlone, Ireland) with a rich history that was reconstructed after its near total destruction in 1691. Now, it is a museum with tons of interactive exhibits and games.
What my class does on these trips is discuss the heritage of these historical sites, and debate whether or not they are being persevered/presented well. I liked the castle and its modern interactive exhibits, but the lighting was too dark to see things easily.
Classmate for scale on the gun.
The giant chess game on the left was the view I saw from the top of one side of the castle, looking over at a church. That's my professor, John, and classmate, Niall, playing.
After the castle we went to a cemetery near by that had been preserved in an interesting way. Years ago, people thought the 1600's cemetery was an eyesore, so they moved all of the tombstones (not the bones!) and lined them up against the walls, making the location into an eerie, grassy park surrounded by headstones. There is even a path lined with the headstones on either side that makes you feel a little uncomfortable as you walk through it.
Things like this are what the heritage group discusses, and how nowadays that could have never happened, as there are regulations on it. So we talk about what could have been done instead to not ruin the whole site.
This is one of my professors, Paul, leading us into the cemetery Abbey. I like this picture because he looks like such an adventurer.
Fascinating Carly, I am enjoying your posts!
ReplyDeleteWhere are all the bones?
ReplyDeleteThat was the big deal for people when the move happened in the cemetery. None of the bones were moved! People were outraged because they could no longer go to their ancestor's actual resting places, only the headstones were labeled.
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