Beneath Our Feet: Art & Archaeology Exhibition
On Culture Night 2025, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Fergal Dennehy, launched the Beneath Our Feet: Art & Archaeology Exhibition at St. Peter's on North Main Street.
On opening the exhibition, the Lord Mayor of Cork said: “I believe this exhibition greatly demonstrates why we need to protect and record our archaeological heritage but most importantly why it is so necessary to make the information publicly accessible. It is hoped that this project will show the importance of diversifying traditional archaeological public engagement too. The intention is to enhance and enrich the sense of place by directly engaging and informing the local community about their history and archaeology by presenting materials visually and imaginatively”.
In the winter of 2021-22 a team of archaeologists, under the direction of Avril Purcell of Lane Purcell Archaeology, excavated a large site, 92-96 North Main Street, in the heart of medieval Cork city.
The site is a valuable window on the lives of medieval Cork people, offering evidence of everyday life and activities, as well as indicators of the wider environmental conditions from the 12th to the 14th centuries and beyond. A total of twelve identifiable buildings including stake-built, post and wattle and sill-beam timber houses, were recorded. These wood remains survived due to the waterlogged conditions of the lower levels of the site.
92 -96 North Main Street: Excavation and construction in tandem
In 2024, Cork City Council Archaeologist Ciara Brett and the artist and archaeologist John Sunderland received Creative Ireland Funding to undertake a project which would interpret the archaeology at the site at North Main Street through visual arts.
Ciara Brett, Cork City Council Archaeologist:
We know that archaeology interests the Cork public, but due to the rescue nature of the projects we engage in, they are rarely able to interact with the material and outcomes directly. By engaging with artists, some of whom have archaeological experience, we have interpreted these narratives of excavation, discovery and imaginings the past, telling both our own stories and the stories of Cork’s history.
The aim of the exhibition is to bring the information gained from the excavation to the wider Cork public in engaging and imaginative ways that investigate and interpret the findings of the excavation through the dual lenses of archaeology and art.
Glass relief panel by John Sunderland
The following artists and scientists will be presenting work.
- Sara Baume – Artist and writer
- John Sunderland – Mixed media visual artist and archaeologist
- Matt Durran – Artist working with glass and ceramics
- Penny Johnston – Archaeobotanist, research scientist and oral historian
- Eva Kourela – Entomologist, PhD researcher and illustrator
Artworks will include an installation of painted boards in the rough form of a winged altarpiece by Sara Baume; sculptural pieces by Matt Durran; drawings using sediments from the site as pigment and glass relief panels by John Sunderland, as well as photographs and maps from the site, pressed flora, insect drawings, a sensitively assembled installation of bracken and bone, recordings of oral histories and a programme of talks.
Schedule of Events
4th October – Art and Archaeology Voices 1.30 pm - 4.30pm
1.30 – 2.00 Sara Baume, Artist and writer
2.00 - 2.45 Penny Johnson, Environmental Archaeologist and Eva Kourela, Entomologist
2.45 - 3 Tea/Coffee
3 - 3.45 Cathy Moore - Archaeologist and woodwork and wooden artefacts specialist
3.45 – Timo Menke, Interdisciplinary Artist, Curator and Writer