The early medieval church was hugely influential in shaping the religious, cultural, and political landscape that emerged in the post-Roman period. In Scotland, churches like Iona led a mid- to late-6th-century surge in monasticism within the Gaelic-speaking kingdom of Dál Riata (whose lands covered what today is Argyll, most of the Hebrides, and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland). This kingdom became an important religious, political, and cultural force in Britain and Ireland. Another significant site linked to this development was the monastery of Lios Mòr on the island of Lismore, Argyll.
It was founded in the 6th century by St Lugaid, popularly known as St Mo Luóc (‘My Little Lu(g)’), as recorded in contemporary Irish annals and chronicles. While the monastery’s existence is attested by historical records, place names, and local tradition, though, little archaeological evidence has previously been uncovered to illuminate its make-up, size, or significance. It had long been assumed that the location of the monastic church lies beneath the island’s 13th-century cathedral (now incorporated into the parish church), and in the 1950s local field boundaries were interpreted as relics of its enclosing earthworks – but previous excavations have found few traces dating to the correct period.
This all changed in 2016, when the Lismore Historical Society carried out a research project focused on the cathedral, hoping to assess the medieval structure’s state of preservation. The project proved a great success, as the team learned much about the site, documenting the building’s plan, clarifying the results of excavations in the 1950s, and confirming the cathedral’s date of construction.
Excavating around Salisbury Plain