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Community-led excavations on the Isle of Lismore have uncovered substantial archaeological evidence for Lios Mòr, an early medieval Christian centre traditionally associated with Saint Mo Luóc, also known as Moluag. The finds include a cemetery, decorated stonework, early structures and extensive evidence of metalworking. They support the site’s importance in the early Christian landscape of Dál Riata—but archaeologists have not yet found the early church itself or securely mapped the monastery’s full enclosure.
What was found on Lismore?
The discoveries come from investigations launched in 2016 by the Lismore Historical Society. The project began by examining the remains of the later medieval cathedral, then broadened to test whether it stood over the earlier monastery associated with Mo Luóc. Local volunteers worked alongside professional archaeologists, including Clare Ellis of Argyll Archaeology.
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- An early medieval cemetery: Burials were found in an in-situ sequence. The earliest dated burial in the sequence falls within cal AD 650–780; the latest falls within cal AD 900–1040. These are dates for sampled burials and contexts, not precise dates for the monastery’s foundation or end.
- Decorated stonework: Fragments of carved cross-slabs point to an ecclesiastical setting.
- Early buildings: In trench T11, archaeologists found an oval drystone structure approximately 8 metres in diameter, with a narrow entrance facing west. Deposits associated with it date to the eighth–tenth centuries AD. A rectangular building to its east remains insufficiently dated and characterized.
- Specialist craftwork: Nearby layers associated with craftworking date to the seventh–ninth centuries AD.
The evidence was reported by Clare Ellis and co-authors in “A major monastic centre? Rethinking Lismore’s place in the ecclesiastical landscapes of early medieval Britain,” published online in Antiquity on 1 October 2026. Read the open-access paper.
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The excavation recovered more than 1,000 fragments of non-ferrous metalworking debris, including crucibles, crucible lids and moulds. That total counts fragments, not complete crucibles. The moulds indicate that craftspeople cast at least two types of penannular brooch and possibly rectangular objects such as buckles.
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X-ray fluorescence analysis found copper alloys were the main metals represented. A small number of crucibles had high silver and gold levels, evidence that precious-metal casting also took place. The authors describe Lismore’s non-ferrous mould and crucible assemblage as the largest yet found after Dunadd.
Other finds include finely interlaced carved bone and antler, yew hoops associated with stave-built vessels, rotary quern fragments, cobble tools, a mortar, a large whetstone and a pumice pebble. Some proposed uses for these objects are interpretations rather than established facts.
Why does the discovery matter?
By the late seventh century, Lismore was part of Dál Riata, a Gaelic-speaking kingdom that included Argyll and most of the Hebrides and extended across the Irish Sea into part of present-day County Antrim. The cemetery, sculpture, buildings and craftwork together strengthen the case that Lios Mòr was a high-ranking ecclesiastical centre in this early Christian network.
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Iona is a useful regional comparison because it is a better-known early Christian monastic site. The new evidence makes Lismore’s significance harder to overlook, but it does not establish that the two centres were identical in status or function. Lismore’s excavation and interpretation remain incomplete.
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The name “Lios Mòr” is also suggestive but not proof of a particular earlier use. “Mòr” means “big”; “lios” has been associated with enclosures or settlements and may reflect an earlier ceremonial or assembly place. That possibility remains an interpretation, not a confirmed account of the site’s origins.
What remains undiscovered or uncertain?
The early church
The findings strengthen the identification of the parish church area with the place where tradition says Mo Luóc established a church in the sixth century. The early church building itself has not been identified. The paper suggests that drier ground beneath the present parish church graveyard is its most likely location.
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The monastery’s boundary
Geophysical surveys identified possible enclosure features, but some excavated boundary features produced no secure dating material. The enclosure, or vallum, may have been a stone wall or turf bank without a ditch, and its route may not follow modern field boundaries. Its full shape and date therefore remain uncertain.
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The authors consider it likely that the craft activity took place inside the monastic enclosure, but they also allow for a secular influence or presence, particularly given the evidence for brooch production. Further excavation is needed to establish the activity’s setting and relationship to the ecclesiastical community.
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How did local residents contribute?
The Lismore Historical Society initiated the project, and local people helped organize volunteers and raise funds through grants, donations, legacies and crowdfunding. The work was community-led, not an excavation carried out by residents alone: it combined local participation and leadership with professional archaeological expertise.
Project participant Robert Hay, a retired plant scientist, told The Guardian: “The most exciting moment for me was when they were doing the post-excavation analysis and they found that they had been melting gold, copper, silver, and they were making jewellery on our little island in the seventh century.” Gordon Noble, professor of archaeology at the University of Aberdeen and a co-author, called it “a really important early Christian establishment.”
Noble also described the project as “a bottom-up approach of the heritage society coming up with a plan, working with professionals – and lo and behold, what a great series of discoveries they’ve made at the site.”
How old are the monastery remains?
The archaeological evidence spans several periods rather than giving a single date for the entire monastery. Dated cemetery burials range from cal AD 650–780 at the early end to cal AD 900–1040 at the late end; nearby craftworking layers date to the seventh–ninth centuries, and deposits associated with the oval structure date to the eighth–tenth centuries. The traditional association with a sixth-century church foundation is a separate claim: the early church has not yet been located, and these excavated dates do not establish when the monastery was founded.
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