The Mournes through time - Environmental change and cultural heritage
Event Description
This event will showcase research being undertaken on the Mourne Mountains, County Down. The applicant is a PhD researcher at Queen’s University Belfast studying the environmental and cultural history of the Mournes using pollen preserved in peat sequences to reconstruct vegetation change and human activity. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, who will present their recent mapping of the Quaternary geology of the Mournes.
The event will take the form of a drop in exhibition where the history of the Mournes through time will be explored. Beginning with its state during the last glaciation, the landforms that evolved after ice retreated, peat that subsequently blanketed the landscape, and vegetation that eventually colonised will be presented, alongside findings about human activity in the uplands since Medieval times. Informative posters will describe this narrative. Visitors will also be able to experience hands-on how this research has been conducted, through looking at peat samples up close and looking at pollen down a microscope.
You might like these too…
Want to see more?
View all events