Heritage is a hit in Glenarm

The day kicked off at Seaview Primary School, where pupils and infants from Glenarm Community Pre-school enjoyed a variety of archaeological activities, delivered by Irish Archaeological Research. The youngsters donned high-visibility jackets and got to work in an archaeological dig, hoping to uncover bones and treasure. They learned how hunter-gatherers recorded their daily lives through cave painting and created some paintings of their own.

The older children were able to handle stone arrows and spears and learn how they were created from local flint stone. The pupils became most animated when they got to dissect “poo” in order to discover more about ancient diets.

Events continued in Glenarm Community Hall, where a photographic exhibition included scenes of old Glenarm and the architectural, industrial, maritime history of the village, as well as local wildlife. The older photographs were a talking point, with visitors reminiscing about old times.

Visitors also enjoyed viewing impressive embroidery and willow weaving displays and some even tried their hand at making traditional willow decorations and ornamental knot tying.

The archaeology theme continued in the evening with Colin Dunlop’s account at Glenarm’s past. He gave a fascinating and entertaining talk about the archaeology of the area and gave people the chance to handle some local artefacts, including 9000-year-old Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) stone tools and a Bronze Age burial urn.

Ann Dunlop concluded the evening with an interesting talk about the stained glass of the church, opening people’s eyes to their local and historical significance.

Next, Glenarm Buildings Preservation Trust will be holding two Christmas traditional craft workshops. Attendees can learn how to create a teacup pin cushion in a traditional stitching class on Friday, November 23, or make Christmas decorations at a willow weaving class on Tuesday, December 4. Both classes will run between 10am-1pm at Glenarm Community Hall.

The activities are part of a Heritage Lottery-funded project which will offer a programme of activities based on all aspects of Glenarm’s heritage and associated heritage skills training and accredited guiding certification, by the end of December, 2013.

Further information on the website www.glenarmbpt.org