Corrib Wrecks
Corrib Wrecks
There is both anecdotal and historic evidence of wrecks in Lough Corrib. The surveys have uncovered a previously undreamt of amount of marine archaeology. We have 10th Century raiding boats with Viking axes, we have beautifully carved and immense vessels from the early Bronze age, we have “sewn boats” from the later bronze age, and representatives of every era in between, most in a remarkable state of preservation.
The Underwater Archaeology Unit of the National Monuments Service is investigating all of the wrecks and making their findings public.
Any wreck over 100 years old is considered to be of historical importance, and a licence is required to dive it.
How the wrecks have survived….
The lake is dynamic and contains very fine sediment, as soon as a wreck is covered oxygen is excluded and the wreck is effectively “vacuum packed”. While the nature of the wood itself may change, it isn’t eaten away or rotted. Occasionally a small section will be exposed as currents change with the seasons and sediment is washed away – the zebra mussels then attack, and in turn fish start predating on the mussels, sweeping away more sediment as they do so. Once the mussels have been eaten away the wreck will cover again, but the wreck has been slightly damaged. The Zebra mussels have changed the nature of preservation, they are a recent introduction, and it remains to be seen how much longer the ancient wrecks will survive.
Corrib Wrecks
The Annaghkeen Boat
Massive late Neolithic / Early Bronze age Vessel. Undisturbed for 4500 years The Annaghkeen Boat Corrib gives up some of its secrets Initial sidescan contact During a survey in the main lake this popped onto the sonar - there was no mistaking that it was something...
Lees Island 5 Logboat
The vessel proved illusive, and was only located some 2 years after the initial detection. This is the image presented on the Burlesques underwater video. Even then we had no idea exactly what we were looking at - some modern wooden structure, like a ladder or...
Victorian yacht wreck
In late July 2011 I spotted an interesting wreck while analysing sonar imagery from the bathymetric survey I had conducted the previous day near Oughterard on Lough Corrib. I sent the images to the Underwater Archaeological Unit and the National Museum of Ireland to...
Conor Wreck
This wreck was spotted on sidescan last year, and the position noted.It was dived in late March 2012. These beautiful photos by Ciaran o Murchu show the extent of the problem we have with Zebra Mussels, which now infest the whole lake.
War Canoe Beneath the Waves: The Viking-Era Carrowmoreknock Logboat of Lough Corrib
In the still waters of Ireland’s Lough Corrib, a silent sentinel of the Viking Age lay hidden for centuries. Now, the Carrowmoreknock logboat is telling its story. Beneath the surface of Lough Corrib, Ireland’s second-largest lake, archaeologists have uncovered a...
Kilbeg 13 – a “killed boat”
The Ancient Irish had some interesting rituals. One of them appears to have been the "Killing" of boats. This particular vessel, an immense boat, probably larger than the Lurgan Boat in the National Museum (its hard to be exact as some of it remains buried under...
Rinnaknock Boat
The Rinnaknock boat is a small one-man logboat, about 9ft long, with the footrest lugs still in place. The gunwhales are largely eroded leaving a slightly scalloped shape, but the lower hull is intact. The wreck was located by sidescan amongst rocks close to...
Baurisheen Lakeboat
Perfect weather meant that we could get some great footage of this old lakeboat. There is a large stone on the aft seat, and another midships. An interesting wreck with a story to tell. The wreck is 25ft down, and Baurisheen seems to be a gloomy...
Rabbit Island Boat
From near the bow looking aft. The boat is 28ft long, in a moderate state of preservation. Four poorly preserved iron spearheads were found inside the vessel. Tha Bow of the vessel - she is made of knotty oak, by the iron age most of the good tall...
Clydagh 10 logboat
The C10 Logboat, approximately 20ft long in deep water. This is a particularly mobile part of the lake where the silt bottom moves every winter, covering or exposing objects on the bottom. Very little is currently known about this vessel, but I couldn't resist the...
The Clydagh Boat
It would be great if an American or European University could get involved in this project - there are so many Phd's and papers under this lake that I've lost count. Strangely it doesn't seem to be the sort of archaeology that Irish institutions are interested in,...
Clydagh Rocks Boat
A small logboat, probably similar to the Rinnaknock Boat. It was discovered by Trevor Northage in 17ft of water close to Clydagh House, and filmed using a RunCam equipped targetting dropcamera and piggyback mounted Gopro Hero 4. The boat is approximately 10ft long and...
Devenish 1 Logboat
This is an undated boat in the main lake of Lough Corrib. It is partially buried, and the section that is visible is heavily scoured on both sides, leaving it very exposed and easy to photograph remotely. This boat could conceivably unlock some of the mysteries of the...
Devenish 2 Logboat
A very rare example of what appears to be a logboat with a live-well. This demonstrates a high level of fishing sophistication, with a likelihood that some method of keeping the fish alive existed on the shoreline close to habitation. The vessel remains almost...
The Castletown Boat
36ft Long, the only sunken ancient vessel found to date in Co Mayo. Maybe they were better at keeping them afloat than the Galway lads. Probably Bronze age - yet to be filmed or inspected by UAU A video taken on a rough day of the Castletown Boat.
Cornamona Wreck
We were surprised to film this.It appears to be a hooker type vessel, or a barge - inverted. It has dumped what may have been a cargo of turf all around the area, there also seem to be a lot small rocks, very out of place in this area of the lake. It may well be the...
Clydagh 2 Logboat
The C2 Boat, one of the very few ancient wrecks on Corrib that lie more or less North / South. A very similar sonar response to the Carrowmoreknock Boat. This vessel is completely buried, but was imaged using the narrow high power sidescan sonar band. The boat is...
The Glann Shore Crannog
The Victorians were great collectors and wonderful documenters of all that they found. While browsing a book on "Lake Dwellings of Ireland" I came across this illustration, and realised that it compared astonishingly well with an anomaly I found some years ago....
The Glann Wood Boat
The Glann Wood Boat is half buried in the thick silt, and infested with zebra mussels. The deterioration of the wreck, and the degree of burial indicate that it has been sitting here for some considerable time, probably many hundreds of years. We have no idea when...
The Bertagh Rock Logboat
Close to Inishdoorus, in a part of the lake where few historic vessels have been found, lies the buried Bertagh Rock Logboat. We first saw traces in 2016, and have now been able to properly determine the nature of the wreck. It appears to be a fairly sizeable vessel,...
Doon Ore Boat
The sturdy bow of the vessel, carvel built, and tarred. She may have been utilized for other duties late in her life, perhaps moving animals to the islands, but this vessel was built for a heavy and tough life. She lies not far from the Clements mine pier, and the...