RTE rarely ventures into the mysterious waters of archaeology, usually preferring the well-trodden path of civil war and later politics when dipping its toes in the pond of history. Two recent series, Secrets of the Stones (free to watch on the RTE player here) and Blood of the Ancestors have begun what is hopefully a change in this mysterious aversion to archaeology which afflicts the corridors of power in Donnybrook.

However, while we wait for a full series (with more than two episodes) dedicated to Ireland's history prior to the Norman invasion we must be sated with the usual tidbits. The latest comes in the form of an episode of Nationwide which deals with an attempted full-scale facsimile of the Newgrange entrance and chamber as well as some recently discovered rock-art at Loughcrew. The episode is fairly well made and features some eminent archaeologists who acquit themselves well.

However, the show left me cold. It barely scratched the surface of what is interesting about Newgrange and Loughcrew and focused more on the group of (art) students who had built the Newgrange reconstruction as part of a class project. It left me and I'm sure most of the other viewers with a curiosity about the many interesting questions raised that would take a whole series to address (hint hint RTE).

While I applaud those archaeologists who took part in the programme I just wish our national broadcaster would get serious about the huge heritage area that is archaeology. Not only would it find a ready-made audience, it would probably end up with a product it could sell world-wide to the gigantic diaspora with an interest in their ancestor's past. When I look at the high quality of archaeological programming across the water it really does make me wonder why we can't expect and receive just a little bit more than half hour specials and a few very rare two-part series.

See the Nationwide episode here and Secrets of the Stones here.