| Previous Site | Next Site |
Earth Science Conservation Review
| Sluggan Bog | Antrim |
| Site number: | 102 | ||
| ESCC: | IS | ||
| Locality Type: | Altitude: 50m, Inland exposure | Status: | ESCR |
| Grid Reference: | J099921 Centroid | ||
| Google maps: | 54.76524,-6.29256 | ||
| County: | Antrim | Council area: | Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council |
| Period: | Quaternary | ||
| Stages: | Holocene, Late Glacial | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Highlights: | |
The importance of this site lies in the large amount of published palaeoecological research carried out on it. It has one of the most complete Late Glacial and Holocene radiocarbon dated pollen records, pioneering research on tephrochronology and key work on dendrochronology. It provided the material for radiocarbon dating key tephra horizons. In addition it is one of the best teaching sites for lowland raised bog stratigraphy. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A bog burst was recorded in 1835 at Sluggan (Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Co. Antrim) that flowed to the River Main, blocking it and causing flooding for nine miles. The earliest palaeoecological study was by Erdtman in 1928. The Northern Ireland Peat Bog Survey (1956) shows an area of 267 acres of virgin bog of 15-20ft deep and mentions that "Drainage should be an easy task since there is a good fall to the River Main some 400 yards away" (Northern Ireland Peat Bog Survey 1956). PAST AND CURRENT RESEARCH STATUS Over the last thirty five years, no lowland raised bog in N. Ireland has been the subject of more palaeoenvironmental study than Sluggan. Along with Fallahogy Bog, it was the subject of archaeological landscape investigations by Prof. A.G. Smith formerly of the Department of Botany, QUB, in the 1960's. The bog is now the lowland raised bog international type site for the north of Ireland (Berglund et al. 1996). The bog was originally very large, occupying some 600 hectares, but almost all of this area has been developed for pastoral agriculture or commercial peat exploitation. Only the small uncut remnant is worthy of conservation. This bog, as represented by the uncut remnant, is unique in N. Ireland as only here is there irrefutable evidence for a continuous depositional sequence from late Pleistocene time, more than 13,000 years ago, until the present (Smith and Goddard 1991). This tiny fragment extends like a tongue with vertical cut faces around most of it. Extensive vertical cutting has exposed peat faces where the stratigraphic sequence of the bog can be seen but, due to this extensive and long-term exploitation of the bog for fuel, the surface is now so dry that Sphagnum growth has ceased and peat accumulation stopped. Numerous interdisciplinary studies of the bog have been published. These include pollen analytical investigations of the Late Glacial and Holocene history of the site (Smith and Goddard 1991) and detailed examinations of specific time periods such as the last few centuries studied by Hall (1994). Dendrochronological investigations of the pines, which are plentiful at the site, have been published by Pilcher et al. (1995). Recently tephrochronological and radiocarbon dating investigations to trace the history of ancient Icelandic volcanism have been pioneered at Sluggan (Pilcher and Hall 1992; Hall et al. 1993a; Hall et al. 1994; Pilcher et al. 1995; Pilcher et al. 1996). The site will continue to be investigated as it provides such a wealth of material for palaeoenvironmental study. Its close proximity to Belfast (approximately 50 minutes from the University) make it an excellent site for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and for inclusion in radio and television programmes. | |
| Conclusions: | |
The site is not salvageable as a living bog because it is now so dry that peat accumulation has ceased through lengthy and extensive traditional and recent mechanised cutting. It is vital that as soon as possible a management plan is developed to safeguard the remaining segment. With a management strategy that minimises further damage the remaining fragments could survive a considerable time as a research and teaching site of regional importance. | |
| Notes: | |
For general information on the Late Quaternary and Holocene of Northern Ireland see the following site: Key Site 101 - Introduction to the Late Quaternary and Holocene of Northern Ireland For site specific information on the Late Quaternary and Holocene of Northern Ireland see the following sites: Key Site 103 - Garry Bog Key Site 104 - Fallahogy Bog Key Site 105 - Slieve Gallion Key Site 106 - Garvaghullion Bog Key Site 107 - Claraghmore Bog Key Site 108 - Glen West Bog | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Structures: | tephra |
| Relations: | Interstadial, Late-glacial deposit |
| Geomorph: | raised bog |
| Paleoenv: | grassland, temperate forest, tundra |
| Measurements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length: | Width: | Height: | |||
| Depth: | 15-20ft | Area: | 267 acres | ||
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Threats: | Pastoral agriculture and commercial peat exploitation. |
| Uses | |
| Uses: | Most of the area of the bog has been developed for pastoral agriculture and commercial peat exploitation. |
| Educ. Level: | An excellent site for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and for inclusion in radio and television programmes. |
| References (13) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Erdtman, G., 1928. Studies in the Postarctic history of the forests of north-western Europe. 1 Investigations in the British Isles. Geologiska Foreningens Forhandlingar, vol. 50, pp.123-192. | |||
| Hall, V.A., 1998. Conservation and landscape management; a tephra-dated palynological investigation Reviews of Palaeobotany and Palynology. | |||
| Hall, V.A., 1994. Landscape development in northeast Ireland over the last half millennium Reviews of Palaeobotany and Palynology, vol. 82, pp.75-82. | |||
| Hall, V.A. & Pilcher, J.R., 1993. Volcanic ash in Irish bogs Technology Ireland, vol. 24, pp.22-25. | |||
| Hall, V.A., McVicker, S.J. & Pilcher, J.R., 1994a. Tephra-linked studies and environmental archaeology, with special reference to Ireland Circaea, vol. 11, pp.17-22. | |||
| Hall, V.A., McVicker, S.J. & Pilcher, J.R., 1994b. Tephra-linked vegetation history around 2310 BC of some sites in Counties Antrim and Down Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 94B pt. 3 In Biology and Environment, pp.245-253. | |||
| Hall, V.A., Pilcher, J.R. & McCormac, F.G., 1993. Tephra dated landscape history of the north of Ireland, AD 750-1150 New Phytologist, vol. 125, pp.193-202. | |||
| Hall, V.A., Pilcher, J.R. & McCormac, F.G., 1994. Icelandic volcanic ash and the mid-Holocene Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) decline in the north of Ireland: no correlation The Holocene, vol. 4 pt. 1, pp.79-83. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R. & Hall, V.A., 1992. Towards a tephrochronology for the Holocene of the north of Ireland The Holocene, vol. 2 pt. 3, pp.255-259. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R., Baillie, M.G.L., Brown, D.M., McCormac, F.G., MacSweeney, P.B. & McLawrence, A.S., 1995. Dendrochronology of subfossil pine in the north of Ireland Journal of Ecology, vol. 83, pp.665-671. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R., Hall, V.A. & McCormac, F.G., 1995. Dates of Holocene Icelandic volcanic eruptions from tephra layers in Irish peats The Holocene, vol. 5 pt. 1, pp.103-110. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R., Hall, V.A. & McCormac, F.G., 1996. An outline tephrochronology for the north of Ireland Journal of Quaternary Science, vol. 11 pt. 6, pp.485-494. | |||
| Smith, A.G. & Goddard, I.C., 1991. A 12,500 year record of the vegetational history of Sluggan Bog, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland (incorporating a pollen zone scheme for the non-specialist) New Phytologist, vol. 118, pp.167-187. | |||
| Record type: | ESCR report | Recorded by: | Jonathan R. Pilcher and Valerie A. Hall, Queen's U |
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Sluggan Bog, County Antrim, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=102. Accessed on 2026-11-08. |
| Previous Site | Next Site |