Moynagh Lough Studies 1

Michael Potterton, editor

Moynagh Lough is one of the most significant archaeological sites ever discovered in Ireland. From 1980 to 1998 excavations were directed by John Bradley. This exceptional multi-period wetland site yielded a rich artefactual assemblage from multiple levels and phases – Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and medieval. Over the years, Bradley produced interim reports and published several articles about the findings, but when he passed away suddenly in 2014, the final excavation report remained incomplete. The Moynagh Lough Project was re-established in 2018 and several strands of post-excavation research have been completed. With twenty essays by a field of national and international experts and specialists, Moynagh Lough Studies is the first book-length volume dedicated to this important archaeological site. It contains essays on medieval and prehistoric artefacts including bone, clay, crucibles, glass, leather, lithics, metalworking, textiles, quern-stones, and a very rare ogam-inscribed antler, as well as specialist reports on archaeo-botany, charcoal and wood, dendrochronology, faunal remains, a biomolecular study of coprolites, and the isotopic analysis of pig remains. There are contributions placing the site within its wider landscape setting, early medieval high-status sites, its international trade network, and its significance to the new Nobber Heritage Centre.


Michael Potterton is an associate professor in the Department of History at MU. Since 2018 he has been the Director and Principal Investigator of the Moynagh Lough Project (Phase 3). He has published more than twenty books as author, co-author or co-editor, mostly relating to the archaeology and history of medieval Ireland.