Ireland- Spike Island Field School

This field school is part of an ongoing research project that examines the archaeology of the 19th century prison on Spike Island, Ireland’s Alcatraz. During this period dealing with criminals by means of long-term incarceration was new frontier. In Ireland and Britain, long-term confinement only became the dominant means of punishment and social control in the mid-19th century. The architecture of many of the purpose-built prisons from this period reflect their new ideas about the redemptive nature of isolation, discipline and work. The physical isolation of prisoners was not possible on Spike Island because it was originally an early 19th century fortress which was only converted to a prison in 1847, at the height of the Great Famine. The prison was tied into the global reach of the British imperial system of power as in the early years of its operation, it was one of the main holding centers for Irish convicts transported to Australia and to Bermuda. In the 2017 season, we will focus on establishing the location of the burial ground used in the prison’s first decade.