Stunned anglers find 5,000-year-old boat
SCIENTIFIC dating has discovered that the remains of a logboat found in the River Boyne dates to the neolithic period – over 5,000 years ago.
The boat was found in Oldbridge, Co. Meath, near Newgrange, by four anglers, Stephen Murphy, Kieran Maher, William Gregory, and David Johnston, while they were fishing on the River Boyne in June 2016.
A sample piece of the wood from the remains was used to carbon-date it. It was found to be from between 3,300 BC to 2,900 BC which coincides with the period of time when the great passage tombs of Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange were built.
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan thanked everyone involved and said: ‘The importance of this discovery and the scientific date which has now been obtained for it lies in its contemporaneity with the building of the Great Passage tomb of Newgrange and the other wonderful passage tombs that dominate our World Bóinne.’ wood The three-metre Heritage is thought Site length of to Brú have na of formed and was the made base of the of the trunk boat of an oak tree. Originally the boat is believed to have been more than four metres long.
This discovery is one of 11 logboats found in the River Boyne but this is the first one to come from the Neolithic period. In total there have been eight logboat discoveries from this period across Ireland. Logboats are one of the most common types of boats found in Ireland, with more than 560 examples found. In July of this year the remains of a 5,500-year-old passage tomb were found in Dowth Hall, Co. Meath, within the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site.