ABSTRACT
A peat hag is an old pit cut in boggy ground and that sums up the state of wetland archaeology in Ireland—bogged down and derelict. Two major types dominate the landscape, raised bogs, particularly in central Ireland, and blanket bogs in west and north Ireland. Turf from these bogs has been cut by hand since recorded times, providing fuel for heating and cooking in all walks of life. The threats to bogland in Ireland are not those of passing traffic or water in excess. They are the permanent exploitation by man, animal, and machine, and drainage of water from the bogs. The future for wetland archaeology in Ireland is certainly not assured, and the wetlands themselves pose the classic confrontation so often arising elsewhere: on one side, industrial and private turf-cutting, reforestation, agricultural reclamation, and rough grazing; on the other, ecology, science, and landscape.
