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heritage · Saturday 22 August 2026 · Various 
The Big Dig - Viking House Excavation Workshop
At Market Square, Roscommon Town · Market Square, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon
At Market Square, Roscommon Town · Market Square, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon
On Saturday 22 August 2026, Market Square in Roscommon town turns into an open-air dig site for the day. The Big Dig is a free family event built around a replica Viking house and a mock archaeological excavation, aimed at children from six to twelve years old, and run as part of National Heritage Week by Roscommon Heritage Office. It is one of the more hands-on entries in the county’s Heritage Week programme, built for kids who want to do something rather than just look at something.
Children dig through a purpose-built excavation pit alongside trained facilitators, uncovering replica finds and learning basic archaeological method as they go: how a site is laid out, why context matters more than the object itself, and how archaeologists read the ground for evidence of how people once lived. The replica Viking house lets children step inside a full-size reconstruction and see how a Viking-age dwelling was built and furnished, giving the dig some context beyond an abstract idea of “the past.” The format runs continuously through the day in Market Square, in the middle of Roscommon town, so families can drop in and out around other plans rather than committing to a fixed session time. It sits alongside the county’s other Heritage Week events, which this year run from 15 to 23 August 2026 across Roscommon.
Market Square is in the centre of Roscommon town, within walking distance of the town’s main shops, pubs and car parks. Roscommon town sits on the N61 between Athlone and Boyle and has Bus Eireann services from Athlone, Galway and Longford.
Roscommon town’s Norman castle and County Museum are both a short walk from Market Square, so the Big Dig fits naturally into a longer day of local history for families visiting for Heritage Week. There is more to see in Roscommon and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Market Square, Roscommon Town in Roscommon? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Roscommon area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.