The Big Dig 2021

The Big Dig 4-25 September 2021

Clare Ellis, accompanied by the bone expert Angela Boyle, is coming back to Lismore to complete the work we started at the Church Glebe in 2018, exploring the Early Church burials. This year’s dig will run from 4-25 September 2021 and is funded by a very generous bequest from the late Hugh MacPherson; the Society of Antiquarians in Scotland; and the welcome donations to our CrowdFunding campaign. The MacDougall McCallum Foundation (USA) has ensured that we reached our target for the cost of the 3 weeks, by matching our JustGiving donations.

With this 3 week dig , we hope to complete the exploration of the Early Church cemetery, guided by the geophysical survey carried out for us in 2019.  This year, under the professional supervision of Dr Clare Ellis and Dr Angela Boyle, the leading bone specialist, the aim is to collect samples of as many burials as possible that will tell us so much about the people on Lismore thirteen or fourteen hundred years ago. It will help to determine date of burial, age, gender, some aspects of health, and the geographic area of origin.  Samples will also go to the Crick Institute in London for DNA analysis as part of the “1000 Ancient British Genomes” Project. (The Institute has offered £10,000-worth of analyses free of charge).  All of this will reveal a great deal about Moluag’s Early Church Monastery.  If we secure good bone samples, we will be able to send them away for more analysis to learn where they came from, and establish their genetic make-up (including, for example, eye and hair colour). We already know that one of the burials is from the Viking age and it will be good to know whether we did have Scandinavian settlers on the island.

The project, featured in the national “Dig It” website (https://www.digitscotland.com/scotland-digs/) has attracted some experienced amateurs. However, as in previous years, there are opportunities for islanders to get “hands on” experience of archaeology. To help Clare Ellis schedule and manage the “workforce”, it would be helpful if those who are interested in digging contact Bob Hay in the first instance. Clare will be happy to welcome volunteers at any point, as long as there are not too many at once!

There will be an Open Day for visitors of all ages on 18 September 2021, when the professional archaeologist and experienced volunteers will be at hand to explain the results up to that time.