Archaeology Legacy Grant - Royal Irish Academy

Overview

The Archaeology Legacy Grant provides funding for post-excavation work on RIA-funded archaeological excavations that concluded more than five years ago. The grant supports various stages of post-excavation, including assessment, analysis, reporting, publication, and archiving.

Key Grant Information

• Submissions open: 3 September 2026
• Submissions close: 15 October 2026, 17:00 (GMT)
• Funding Amount: Up to €30,000
• Supported by: National Monuments Service

What You Can Apply For

• Post-excavation assessment: Reviewing what still needs to be done, planning how to finish it, and describing site records, artefacts, and environmental finds. Also outlining analysis, interpretation, and sharing of results.
• Further post-excavation work: Completing the final excavation report, including drawings, illustrations of finds, expert reports, radiocarbon dating, and other scientific tests.
• Conservation and preparation of finds: Ensuring artefacts are properly conserved and listed according to National Museum of Ireland guidelines for museum collection.
• Publishing and sharing the project: Editing and producing extra illustrations for publication and sharing the project (separate from the final excavation report).
• Finishing the project: Archiving all records and artefacts and submitting them to the relevant national bodies (NMS and NMI).

Aims and Priorities

• The completion of older archaeological excavation projects in a timely and managed way.
• Helping to grow our understanding of archaeology, in the context of the finite nature of the archaeological resource.

Eligibility

• This funding is only for post-excavation work – including publishing or archiving – on archaeological excavations that were previously funded by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), and where the RIA funding ended at least five years ago. These are called RIA-funded Legacy Projects.