Secrets from the sky: Exploring monumental discoveries from Neolithic Ireland

Baltinglass, in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, is well-known for archaeological echoes of early Neolithic and particularly middle Bronze Age activity, but traces of a human presence between these periods was noticeably scarcer – so much so that it had long been thought that the area was abandoned for the intervening period of prehistory. Recently published analysis of aerial imagery produced using LiDAR scans has completely transformed this picture, however, picking out topographical traces of monuments long-destroyed by ploughing, and revealing a much busier prehistoric landscape than was previously assumed. The findings of the study – led by Dr James O’Driscoll of the University of Glasgow