5,000-year-old logboat discovered near Newgrange

Scientific dating has confirmed that the remains of a logboat found in the River Boyne close to the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site dates to the Neolithic period, over 5,000 years ago. The prehistoric logboat was found in June 2016 by local anglers while fishing on a tidal stretch of the river at Oldbridge, Co. Meath.

The remains of the vessel consist of a 3m length of wood which would have formed the base of the boat. It is estimated that the logboat was originally more than 4m long, shaped out of the trunk of an oak tree using stone axes.

This discovery is one of 11 logboats found in the River Boyne, though this is the first boat found to date to the Neolithic period – a sample of the wood has been radiocarbon dated to between 3,300-2,900BC. This is the period of the construction of the great passage tomb complexes of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange.

The National Monuments Service Underwater Archaeology Unit and the National Museum of Ireland collaborated in recording the boat and carefully removing it from the river bed to the museum facilities, where it is currently undergoing conservation.

The Great Passage Tomb of Newgrange, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Announcing details of the discovery, Minister of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan TD 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 Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne. It is tempting to ponder the part such a vessel might have played in the construction of these burial monuments and the lives of those who built them, in ferrying people along the river, and transporting materials and stones used to build the great tombs.”

Details have been added (Ref Wreck No W18584) to the Department’s online Wreck Viewer which launched earlier this year and which helps promote a wider appreciation of Ireland’s maritime and riverine archaeology.