- The conference takes place on 4 September 2026 at Maynooth University,
- It will be followed by the launch of Moynagh Lough Studies 1 at 6pm.
- The site has yielded evidence of human activity spanning from the Mesolithic period to the early medieval era.
- Excavations directed by John Bradley between 1980 and 1998 recovered over 10,000 artefacts from the waterlogged crannog.
- The volume includes essays on metalworking, textiles, leather, lithics and a rare ogam-inscribed antler tool.
- The project re-established in 2018 under Michael Potterton’s direction has completed several strands of post-excavation research.
This year’s Moynagh Lough Conference at Maynooth University, hosted by the Department of History on Friday 4 September 2026 in Renehan Hall at MU. The conference will be followed immediately by the launch of Moynagh Lough Studies 1 at 6pm. Moynagh Lough is one of the most important archaeological sites ever discovered in Ireland. Located near the village of Nobber in County Meath, this multi-period wetland site has provided an extraordinary physical record of human life spanning over 5,000 years. It is particularly famous for its incredibly well-preserved early medieval crannog (an artificial island fortress) and its rich collection of ancient artefacts .
Because the soil at Moynagh Lough remained waterlogged for centuries, materials like wood, leather, and textiles survived instead of rotting away. Archaeologist John Bradley directed the major digs at the site between 1980 and 1998. Following Bradley’s passing in 2014, the Maynooth University Moynagh Lough Project was established to organize the nearly 10,000 unique finds. The site was occupied on and off during the Mesolithic (Stone Age), Neolithic, Bronze Age, and early medieval periods. It was finally abandoned around 800 AD .
The project team has processed an archive of nearly 10,000 artefacts, hundreds of notebooks and thousands of plans, drawings and photographs. Recent specialist work funded by the Royal Irish Academy has digitised over 1,900 hand-drawn site plans and produced 714 individual artefact records, including 108 items drawn or redrawn for the first time. The volume’s contributors analyse finds such as crucibles, spindle whorls, leather fragments and a hoard of 176 flints discovered in open-water mud. Key Archaeological Findings include the Moynagh Point, a distinct style of long, slender Stone Age spearhead made from polished stone.
The conference and book launch together mark the culmination of extensive post-excavation analysis, with further volumes planned to follow. Research has confirmed occupation phases spanning the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and early medieval periods, with the crannóg itself built during the seventh century and occupied until approximately AD 800. The waterlogged conditions at the site have preserved organic materials rarely found elsewhere in Ireland, providing insights into craft production, trade networks, diet and landscape use across thousands of years.
The conference brings together archaeologists, historians and specialists to examine the findings from one of Ireland’s most important wetland excavation sites. The event precedes the official launch of the first book-length publication on the site, Moynagh Lough Studies 1, at 6pm.
The conference programme covers the full chronological span of human activity at the site, from Mesolithic hunter-gatherer platforms to the early medieval crannog abandoned around 800 AD. Presenters address themes including craft production, trade networks, environmental evidence and the site’s wider landscape context. The gathering also provides a forum for discussing the post-excavation research completed since the project’s re-establishment in 2018.Moynagh Lough Studies 1, edited by Michael Potterton, assembles 18 essays by national and international experts on subjects ranging from metalworking and leather-working to archaeobotany and isotopic analysis. The volume includes analysis of a rare ogam-inscribed antler tool and examines the site’s connections with continental Europe. Further details and booking information for the conference are available at the event’s Eventbrite page
Michael Potterton shared, “Moynagh Lough is one of the most important archaeological sites ever excavated in Ireland. The site preserves an extraordinary record of human activity extending from prehistory to the early medieval period. This volume represents the first book-length study devoted to the site and brings together eighteen essays by leading specialists.””
Laura Basell shared: “The waterlogged conditions at Moynagh Lough have ensured the survival of materials rarely preserved elsewhere, offering exceptional insights into everyday life, craft production, trade, diet and the environment across thousands of years.”
Edel Bhreathnach shared: “The contributors examine subjects as diverse as metalworking, textiles, leather, lithics and artefacts of bone and antler, alongside specialist analyses of charcoal and wood, archaeobotanical remains, coprolites, dendrochronology and isotopic evidence.”
