The Lismore Landscape Project: Environment

In Gaelic---in preparation

An important objective of the project is to understand the changing environment of the island. This objective is facilitated by the presence of a number of freshwater lochs and the predominantly limestone geology of the island. The research methods include:

• Analysis of pollen, sediments and macrobotanical remains from loch sequences
• Analysis of environmental indicators from sealed archaeological deposits
• Radiocarbon dating

A pilot study of Balnagowan loch discovered deposits in excess of 6m where peats rested on freshwater marl deposits. A radiocarbon sample and a pollen sample were taken from a more complex alternating sequence of wood peat and marl above a basal deposit of dark blue-grey (Late glacial?) silt at 3.86m. The results of the radiocarbon dating are now ready and the results of the pollen analysis should be ready shortly. The first results confirm the considerable promise of this location for a detailed environmental analysis:

• Long sequences
• Extensive plant macrobotanical evidence
• Very biologically productive localities
• Good proximity to archaeologically significant localities (e.g. Tirefour)
• Good proximity to agriculturally productive land

© 2002--2003 University of Cambridge Information provided by lismore-project@arch.cam.ac.uk $Id: environment.html,v 1.2 2005/06/13 15:11:17 dir21 Exp $