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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Slieve Gallion | Londonderry |
| Site number: | 105 | ||
| ESCC: | IS | ||
| Locality Type: | Altitude: 445m, Inland exposure | Status: | ESCR |
| Grid Reference: | H807885 Centroid | ||
| Google maps: | 54.73844,-6.74707 | ||
| County: | Londonderry | Council area: | Mid Ulster District Council |
| Period: | Quaternary | ||
| Stages: | Holocene | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Highlights: | |
The significance of this site is that its detailed radiocarbon dated pollen record allowed, for the first time, an assessment of the time differences in vegetational change between uplands and lowlands. PAST AND CURRENT RESEARCH STATUS The part of the bog that extended back to the early Holocene probably only covered a few 100 sq m in the saddle between the two summits. The whole mountain top was covered by later Holocene blanket peats. There has been extensive recent spade cutting. Air photographs taken in 1969 show little cutting at that time in this area. This site is superficially a blanket peat incorporating small valley peats and flushes. The site is unique in that it includes deposits spanning the last 10,000 years. Such ancient deposits make those on Slieve Gallion unlike other upland blanket peats in N. Ireland, most of which started to accumulate about 5000 years ago. The site was investigated some 25 years ago when the area was less accessible but under more human pressure from traditional peat cutting. On visiting the site in 1997, the original basin from which the most ancient peats had been collected could not be identified with certainty, in spite of much careful scrutiny of the landscape and exploratory coring. There is erosion of the peat in the wider area, probably from damage caused by sheep. It is possible that peat cutting and erosion have altered the environs of the site so much that the original coring site cannot now be pinpointed. | |
| Conclusions: | |
There is still a persuasive argument for conserving this area. We know little of the most ancient peat initiation and development but we know that a site worthy of further study is within this area. There is still probably some of this area with a full Holocene record intact, but it would take a detailed stratigraphic survey to piece together the shape of the original reed-swamp basin in relation to the small remaining hags of uncut and un-eroded peat. This would be a necessary precursor to any conservation attempts. As investigations of the oldest deposits yielding information on climate before human influence become more important, research on sites of this type become necessary. The site would benefit from lower sheep stocking rates to reduce or halt erosion. Of greater impact however is the new threat posed to sensitive upland sites by mountain bikes. The combined detrimental effect of sheep and bikes is one that will cause further erosion and reduction in the quality of these unique landscapes. Discussions with all organisations who use the uplands would be prudent. | |
| 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 102 - Sluggan Bog Key Site 103 - Garry Bog Key Site 104 - Fallahogy Bog Key Site 106 - Garvaghullion Bog Key Site 107 - Claraghmore Bog Key Site 108 - Glen West Bog | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Relations: | Interglacial deposit |
| Geomorph: | blanket bog |
| Paleoenv: | grassland, temperate forest, tundra |
| Measurements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length: | Width: | Height: | |||
| Depth: | Area: | Several 100 sq m | |||
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Threats: | Erosion of the peat due to damage caused by sheep; peat cutting; mountain biking. |
| Uses | |
| Uses: | Sheep grazing and recreation (mountain biking). |
| References (15) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis, E., 1987. The palynology of the Glencloy area (Thesis) Unpublished Phd thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| Goddard, A., 1971. Studies of the vegetational changes associated with the initiation of blanket peat accumulation in north-east Ireland (Thesis) Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| Goddard, I.C., 1971. The palaeoecology of some sites in the north of Ireland (Thesis) Unpublished MSc thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| Hall, V.A., 1990. Ancient agricultural activity at Slieve Gullion, Co. Armagh: the palynological and documentary evidence Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 90 pt. C, pp.123-134. | |||
| 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. | |||
| Hanna, S., 1993. Blanket mire initiation in Ireland with special reference to upland sites in Counties Antrim and Donegal (Thesis) Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| Holland, S., 1975. Pollen analytical studies concerning settlement and early ecology in Co. Down (Thesis) Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| McVicker, S.J., 1993. A study of the vegetational history of the Mourne Mountains, County Down, using palynological and tephrochronological techniques (Thesis) Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| McVicker, S.J. & Hall, V.A., 1997. Recent landscape history of Slieve Muck, Mourne Mountains, Co. Down Irish Naturalists Journal, vol. 25, pp.353-358. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R., 1970. Palaeoecology and radiocarbon dating of sites in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland (Thesis) Unpublished PhD thesis, Queen's University, Belfast. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R., 1973. Pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of a peat on Slieve Gallion, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland New Phytologist, vol. 72, pp.681-689. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R. & Larmour, R., 1982. Late-glacial and post-glacial vegetational history of the Meenadoan nature reserve, County Tyrone Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. 82 pt. B, pp.277-295. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R. & Smith, A.G., 1972. Pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of deposits at Slieve Gullion passage grave, Co. Armagh Ulster Journal of Archaeology, vol. 35, pp.17-21. | |||
| Pilcher, J.R. & Smith, A.G., 1979. Palaeoecological investigations at Ballynagilly, a Neolithic and Bronze age settlement in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, vol. B286, pp.345-369. | |||
| Smith, A.G., Pearson.G.W. & Pilcher, J.R., 1971. Belfast Radiocarbon dates IV. Radiocarbon, vol. 13. | |||
| 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. Slieve Gallion, County Londonderry, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=105. Accessed on 2026-11-08. |
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