Survey of the Raised Bogs of County Longford

The archaeology of Longford is very much defined by the county’s topography. The undulating farmland of the north and east have provided a range of sites and objects comparable to other Midland counties. On the other hand, the broken chain of raised bogs in the south-west of the county has not received much attention until comparatively recently and their true archaeological potential has only been realised through the work of Raftery since 1985. The Wetland Unit survey was designed to compliment the Sites and Monuments Record and County Surveys undertaken by the Office of Public Works. It is hoped that this attention to the wetland evidence will augment the other predominantly dryland based surveys and provide a more com- plete picture of Longford archaeology. The urgency and need for the establishment of such a survey is best explained by the fact that of the 1.2 million hectares of wetland in Ireland, less than 17% remains relatively intact. A geological background for Longford has been undertaken by Margaret Keane.