Welcome to the main source of information about the Castles in Communities Project, an archaeological and anthropological field school and research project based at Ballintober, County Roscommon, Ireland.  The project is coordinated by ADCO (the Archaeological Diving Company Ltd) based in Ireland, with Project Directors affiliated with Foothill College, Las Positas College, Harvard University, and Boston College.   

Our goal is to combine academic research, field school pedagogy, and intensive community engagement to investigate Ballintober in the past and present, focusing on the later medieval period.  This is accomplished by incorporating many methodologies to create a more holistic understanding of the region and its inhabitants, including pedestrian or walkover surveys, the gathering of cultural narratives, topographic and geophysical survey, and archaeological excavation.  As a student on the Castles in Communities project, you will have the opportunity to not only get hands-on experience with all these methodologies, but also to contribute actively to the future of our research, teaching, and community collaboration.