2012:616 - LOUGH LUGH, Uisneach, Westmeath

A sediment core for paleoenvironmental analysis was extracted from the pond known as Lough Lugh, on the summit of the Hill of Uisneach, a multi-period archaeological site located roughly midway between Ballymore and Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. The study combines pollen, chironomid (non-biting midge fly) and macroscopic charcoal analyses to elucidate changes in the local environment, land use and human activity at Uisneach over time, and is being conducted as part of a collaborative project by the Discovery Programme, Dr Roseanne Schot and the School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI Galway.

The core (maximum length c. 0.97m) was taken from the centre of Lough Lugh, where the base of the pond lies c. 2.45m below the present surface. The preliminary results of pollen and chironomid sampling suggest that the pond is Late-Glacial in origin, and this seems to be confirmed by a radiocarbon date of 9088 ± 42BP (cal. 8425–8236BC) obtained for a hazelnut shell at 1.7m (depth from lake surface). A sample of lake sediment at 1.64m yielded a date of 2286 ± 30BP (cal. 400–210BC), which clearly indicates a hiatus in the sediment record, possibly as a result of fluctuating water levels. Analysis of the core is ongoing and the results will be published in due course.