The ancient past

Bog Bodies – Kingship and Sacrifice

BY EAMON P KELLY, KEEPER OF IRISH ANTIQUITIES, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND Taken from Sceal na Móna, Vol. 13, no. 44, November 2002, p25. At the end of the last Ice Age melt water from retreating ice sheets left the Central Plain of Ireland strewn with shallow lakes that in time developed into large expanses of raised bog. Following the removal...

Tags: Environment, Culture, Scéal na Móna, The Ancient Past

The Peatlands of Ireland

Taken from Bord na Móna, Fact Sheet, no. 1. FACT SHEET 1.0 Peatlands are a very important part of the history, culture and economy of Ireland. These vast areas of land are amongst our great natural assets and their uniqueness can be compared to the semi-tropical and tropical rainforests in a number of remote regions in the World. PEATLANDS...

Tags: Company Archive, Environment, The Ancient Past

Raised Bogs

Taken from Bord na Móna, Fact Sheet no. 4. These can be defined as bogs which form from vegetation that grows due to the nutrients present in rain water. In Ireland Raised Bogs occur mainly in the central plain (See Fig. I) where moderate amounts of rainfall occur annually. They develop and form on top of fens. They have a dome-shaped...

Tags: Company Archive, Environment, The Ancient Past

Peatland Archaeology Since 1999: Archaeological Development Services Excavations and Surveys

BY JANE WHITAKER Taken from Sceal na Móna, Vol. 13, no. 60, December 2006, p66-68. Archaeological Development Services (ADS) Ltd has been the Archaeological Consultant to Bord na Móna (BnM) since 1998 and to date over one hundred and eighty excavations have been carried out in the Counties of Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath as part of BnM...

Tags: Environment, Present and Future, Culture, Scéal na Móna, The Ancient Past

Formation and Types of Peatlands

Taken from Bord na Móna, Fact Sheet no. 2. Peatlands (or Boglands) are biogenic deposits where the incompletely decayed remains from a variety of plants, and occasionally trees, have accumulated in waterlogged areas over hundreds or thousands of years. The deposits are a minimum of 45 cm deep but in the vast majority of instances they range...

Tags: Company Archive, Environment, The Ancient Past

Blanket Bogs

Taken from Bord na Móna Fact Sheet, no. 5. These can be defined as bogs which form in areas where relatively high levels of rainfall occur annually. They are found mainly on the lowlands in the western counties and also on mountain areas throughout the country. They are shallow bogs which form a blanket- like layer over the underlying soil....

Tags: Company Archive, Environment, The Ancient Past

Archaeological Finds in the Peatlands of Ireland

Peatlands have been a very important source of archaeological material in Ireland. Artefacts found both under and within peatland deposits have provided detailed information about communities who lived in the early periods of our history as well as about the food, clothes and tools which were used from the Stone Age to recent times. Why does...

Tags: Company Archive, Environment, Culture, The Ancient Past