The Irish National Heritage Park is an open-air museum near

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

which tells the story of human settlement in Ireland from the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

period right up to the

Norman Invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

in 1169. It has 16 reconstructed dwellings including a mesolithic camp, a

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

farmstead, a

portal dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

, a cyst grave,

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...

, medieval

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

, monastic site,

crannóg A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...

and a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

harbour. It opened in 1987 and opens 363 days of the year to the public. It covers 35 acres of parkland, estuary trails and wetland forest. It is a

not for profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation and all its receipts from admissions, restaurant and shop sales go directly back into the running and maintenance of the park. The park offers guided tours led by costumed guides, have audio guides available or self guiding options. The guided tour lasts about one and a half hours and ends at the Viking harbour. The park also contains a restaurant and a gift shop. The Trials of Tuan are a set of fun activities throughout the park for children to enjoy culminating in panning for gold.

Facilities

The park has ample free parking, outside toilets as well as toilets in the restaurant and public toilets within the park itself. Full baby changing facilities are available. There are several standard assisted toilets as well as a "Changing Places" facility, which provides 12m² of floor space, and includes both a full room coverage ceiling track hoist, a centrally located toilet bowl with space either side for transfers or assistants, and a height-adjustable adult sized changing bench. Reconstructed Dolmen

Courses and events

The park runs an array of courses throughout the year ranging from

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing and wood carving to stone masonry and mounted combat, as well as many events throughout the year. The park is dedicated to bringing traditional skills back to the public and making them accessible to as many people as possible.

Carrig, digging the lost town

The newest addition to the park is an archaeological excavation at the site of the first

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

fortification in Ireland on the hill of Carrig overlooking the

river Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), bef ...

. The park partnered with the IAFS (Irish Archaeology Field School) to excavate and research the site proving studying opportunities for international students from all over the world. The site contains a ringwork, burnt wooden structure and later stone castle. A town grew up around the castle and existed till the 1300s. Medieval Ringfort

References

External links

*
Heritage park's Youtube channel
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