Palynological Project - Mooghaun Study

Mooghaun, Co. Clare is the site of a huge hillfort, which excavations by the Discovery Programme have shown was constructed in the Late Bronze Age (see The North Munster Project). Mooghaun Lough, a little to the northeast of the hillfort was selected for pollen sampling with a view to reconstructing the prehistoric environment in the area. A 7.5m long core was taken , which extends back into the late-Glacial period, over 10,000 years ago. Pollen analysis has been carried out for the period 9500 BC to 500 AD.

The pollen diagram produced (see opposite) shows several features of interest. Zone 2 records the Elm Decline referred to above. Here, however, there is no evidence of widescale woodland clearance. This is in contrast to other areas of the west of Ireland which show major human interference at a much earlier period, during the Neolithic or New Stone Age. The data supports the disease hypothesis as the major cause of the Elm Decline at this site.

The first substantial human impact on the natural environment in the Mooghaun area took place in the Early Bronze Age, probably around 2000 BC. This first attack on the woodlands resulted in largescale removal of oak, although hazel and yew were much less affected (Zone 4).

The most spectacular feature of this pollen diagram is the Landnam ("land-taking") event which took place in the Middle to Late Bronze Age. From about 1550 BC onwards, there was a major effort directed at clearing the hazel-dominated woodland, which resulted in a more or less complete removal of all woody vegetation. This is clearly shown in Zone 5 of the diagram, where there is a dramatic switch from tree to herb-pollen. Most of the herbs suggest the creation of pastureland, but the presence of cereal-type pollen also points to the cultivation of crops in the area. This period of forest clearance lasted about 600-700 years and almost certainly coincides with the period of construction of the hillfort. This was a period of intense land-use, involving and supporting a large population in the Mooghaun area. A marked increase in charcoal particles points to increased burning in the area, probably local fires perhaps associated with the many fulachta fiadh (bronze age cooking sites) found in this area. Subsequently, however, after about 850 BC, there was a step-by-step reduction in farming activity, during which crop-cultivation became less important, the trees gradually recovered and grew back over increasingly large areas of the landscape. In fact, during part of the Iron Age, from about 50 AD to 350 AD, farming activity in the area may have stopped completely and much of the human population may have disappeared, allowing trees to grow back (zone 8). This is something which has been observed in pollen diagrams elsewhere (see Louth Study above). As in other parts of Ireland, however, this fall-off in activity is followed by a new vigorous phase of agriculture associated with new farming and cereal-processing techniques introduced in the Early Christian period.

Principle Investigator: Dr. Karen Molloy