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Moynagh Lough Excavations
Moynagh Lough lies just over 400m south-west of Nobber in north Co. Meath, surrounded by a drumlin landscape of rich pasturelands. Excavation revealed that the initial human occupation of the site commenced in the centuries immediately before 4000BC when a community of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers constructed a series of platforms in the lake. An archaeological excavation directed by John Bradley was carried out on the multi-period wetland site between 1980 and 1998 (licence number E377). Following John's untimely death in November 2014, and led by Dr. Michael Potterton (NUI, Maynooth) a project to publish the findings of the excavations was initiated (support by a steering group comprised of representatives from the National Monuments Service, National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, University College Dublin, Maynooth University and Meath County Council). In 2023 the focus is to progress the compilation of a master database of Moynagh Lough finds, according to National Museum of Ireland (NMI) guidelines and best practice. At the start of this task, there were six separate digital databases and at least twelve handwritten lists of finds. These lists had been compiled on an ad-hoc basis over the past forty-five years and are hopelessly inadequate for modern purposes. There are almost ten thousand finds to be included and the NMI will not accept the artefacts until the new database is complete. A trained Research Assistant will complete this phase of the project.
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