{"id":4643,"date":"2026-10-20T14:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T13:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/?p=4643"},"modified":"2026-10-20T15:31:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:31:01","slug":"what-lies-beneath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/","title":{"rendered":"What Lies Beneath"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A conversation with archaeologist Michael Stanley  <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Helen Shaw, T\u00f3char Stories\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am standing at Toar Bog,<\/a> in County Westmeath with archaeologist Michael Stanley<\/a> looking out across a post industrial peatland where the remains of the Bord na M\u00f3na turf extraction days are still visible. There is forgotten and rusted machinery, rail tracks, an abandoned workers’ hut and across the perimeter stacks of fells logs transported there from another Bord na M\u00f3na (now BnM) site. It is a bright late August weekend, birdsong still fills the air and we have come here to record the story of what lies beneath us in the Midland bogs. We are in the shadow of Croghan Hill, in County Offaly, an extinct volcano dating back some 340 million years ago and a sacred place for our Bronze Age ancestors.\u00a0 There is a burial ground on the summit and the Hill is known as the inauguration place of the Kingdom of U\u00ed Failghe – from which Offaly gets its name.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Archaelogist, Dr Michael Stanley, at Toar Bog beside disused Bord na M\u00f3na rail tracks (Helen Shaw)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN: <\/strong> Where the Curlew Calls – archaeologist Dr. Michael Stanley<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael knows this area well but is revisiting after a long absence. He has just climbed Croghan Hill to experience once more the panorama it offers of an ancient and changing landscape. The Iron Age bog body, Old Croghan Man,<\/a> was found not far from there in 2003, and now wind and solar farms are visible across the horizon marking the transition from the industrial turf industry that shaped this region from the late 1940s. It is impossible not to be aware of deep time and space when you look out across the land and the peatlands with their 10,000 years of formation paralleling human settlement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese boglands are not wastelands\u201d, Michael says. They may look like wastelands today but people hunted here, gathered materials. They did things like build fulachta\u00ed fia (cooking pits) on the margins of bogs, and rituals took place within the bogs as well. A lot of the finds in the National Museum derive from bogland locations that have been found by peat cutters\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image:
Image: Irish peatland archaeology across time, drawn by Craig Carry (with permission IPeAAT Project UCC\/Research Ireland)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michael started his archaeological career in the peatlands with the specialist survey team, the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit<\/a>, (IAWU) set up by Professor Barry Raftery,<\/a> from University College Dublin (UCD) in 1990. That unit, established by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and UCD\u2019s Department of Archaeology, conducted surveys of Bord na M\u00f3na Midland bogs – including Toar Bog – identifying, recording archaeological assets, particularly wooden toghers) and fed that data into the national archaeological inventory managed by the National Monuments Service.<\/a> Michael worked with the unit as a research student and assisted in Professor Raftery\u2019s ground-breaking work at Corlea Bog, including\u00a0 the installation of the Corlea Trackway<\/a> in the early 1990s, and he became a full-time member of the unit\u2019s team in 1999. He worked with IAWU until 2005 when he took up his current role as archaeologist with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). He is back in Toar Bog to revisit survey work he did here twenty-five years ago and present to the local community in Tyrrellspass as part of Heritage Week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Archaeologist Dr. Michael Stanley at Toar Bog by the old Bord na M\u00f3na rail track with the felled logs and abandoned machinery behind him( Helen Shaw)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Toar Bog was in production under Bord na M\u00f3na from the early 1980s but milled peat extraction ended here in 2020. In 2000, Michael was part of a team surveying the bog that found over 400 archaeological sites but given the bog remained in production for another twenty years it is likely many of those were destroyed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the land around us looks cutaway and depleted, Michael sees the archaeological potential it holds. \u201cThe milled peat production brought peat levels down to an extent they were exposing late Bronze Age sites. One of the oldest toghers we discovered was radiocarbon dated to 1048-827BC. Below that I have every reason to believe that there would be even older material. In another bog to the east we found a type of stone tool made out of chert that dates from the late Mesolithic period – say 6700-4000BC\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesolithic is when human settlement is happening on the island.  In 1977, not too far from Toar Bog, at Boora, County Offaly, a Bord na M\u00f3na worker, Joe Craven, began noticing a sandy ridge where a peat-floored lake had been drained some decades back, in preparation for extraction. When it was excavated archaeologists found over 14 hearths with traces of human settlement and cooking – showing human settlement to little more than 500 years after the Ice Age. The intertwined life cycle of the peatlands and human society.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI view it as a tapestry where I see all the different aspects of different epochs, historical periods, prehistoric periods, and they are all here. The nature of the human occupation on the island is such that you can hardly put a shovel in the ground anywhere without hitting some trace of the past\u201d, Michael says. He sees the recent past as valid a trace as the most ancient.\u00a0 On the drive over he passed through Rhode, where the cooling tower has been demolished and the landscape is now dotted with wind turbines.\u00a0 \u201cSo I was wondering about what the impact of this change has been to all of those Bord na M\u00f3na workers, whether it was the guys in the tractors going up and down the fields, or people working in the offices doing the admin? Where have all those people gone? What industries have they gone to? What has been the social impact of that? Because, you know, Bord na M\u00f3na has\u00a0had this massive positive social impact on the Midlands in terms of providing employment, providing infrastructure, even housing stock throughout the Midlands. That’s a really interesting story in terms of the history of the State and the social history of the Midlands. So I see all of that as a tapestry, and I see it, all as having value, and it’s all interconnected.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Michael at the old workers hut, Toar Bog (Helen Shaw)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Michael, and indeed other archaeologists working in the wetlands, want is that history, archaeology, social culture and heritage storytelling have a place at the table when we plan the future use of the post industrial peatlands; whether for ecology in nature restoration, reforestation or renewable energy in wind farms. Even the most depleted bogland has the potential to add to our knowledge and our understanding. \u201cSo at the very least, if you are doing these works, you need archaeological oversight to ensure that if they are having an impact that we can at least record the archaeology or see that it\u2019s preserved in situ or explore if the works can take place at another location\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate on how we use the bogs often centred on their current usefulness to humans, and human needs, but what Michael is reflecting is a call to see the land within a wider frame of value and to see the time container of the land itself as an intrinsic value. If nature restoration and climate solutions must have, as Professor John Feehan argues, equal value then we also need to value what the land itself carries. Michael Stanley\u2019s work today in the peatlands is a personal commitment, honouring his own roots in both the profession and the region. He wants to see the public included and involved in both the findings that have come from archaeological work but also in the question of balancing how we carry our past, or origin stories, while shaping our future viability. \u201cI\u2019m a big advocate for the Midlands,\u201d he says smiling as we walk out. \u201cI think it has plenty to offer in so many ways and certainly archaeologically there is a lot of interest here\u201d.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read Dr. Michael Stanley\u2019s research on Toar Bog here:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dispatches from the debris<\/a>.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOR MORE : <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit<\/strong> the UCC research project Irish Peatland Archaeology Across Time (IPeAAT) https:\/\/www.ucc.ie\/en\/peatlands\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ:<\/strong>    Digging Through Time – Westmeath Examiner February 12 2026<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/strong>: Stories of Croghan Hill,<\/a> Offaly Heritage, Offaly County Council  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/strong>: Story of the Bogs, John Feehan series,<\/a> Offaly Heritage, Offaly Council Council.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A conversation with archaeologist Michael Stanley   By Helen Shaw, T\u00f3char Stories\u00a0\u00a0 I am standing at Toar Bog, in County Westmeath […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,20,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-community-stories","category-westmeath"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A conversation with archaeologist Michael Stanley   By Helen Shaw, T\u00f3char Stories\u00a0\u00a0 I am standing at Toar Bog, in County Westmeath […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"T\u00f3char Wetlands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1119\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emily Nolan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emily Nolan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Emily Nolan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fd7d8cc1b96ae7733bf43924d5a1c60f\"},\"headline\":\"What Lies Beneath\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1445,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Community Stories\",\"Westmeath\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1119},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/community-stories\\\/what-lies-beneath\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/ga\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Lies Beneath\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/\",\"name\":\"T\u00f3char Wetlands\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"T\u00f3char Wetlands\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/cropped-Tochar-Title-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/cropped-Tochar-Title-Logo.png\",\"width\":823,\"height\":274,\"caption\":\"T\u00f3char Wetlands\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/wetlandsrestoration\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fd7d8cc1b96ae7733bf43924d5a1c60f\",\"name\":\"Emily Nolan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Emily Nolan\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/","og_locale":"ga_IE","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands","og_description":"A conversation with archaeologist Michael Stanley   By Helen Shaw, T\u00f3char Stories\u00a0\u00a0 I am standing at Toar Bog, in County Westmeath […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/","og_site_name":"T\u00f3char Wetlands","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/","article_published_time":"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1119,"url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Emily Nolan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emily Nolan","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/"},"author":{"name":"Emily Nolan","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/fd7d8cc1b96ae7733bf43924d5a1c60f"},"headline":"What Lies Beneath","datePublished":"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/"},"wordCount":1445,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg","articleSection":["Blog","Community Stories","Westmeath"],"inLanguage":"ga-IE"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/","name":"What Lies Beneath - T\u00f3char Wetlands","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-10-20T13:48:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T14:31:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ga-IE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1119},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/community-stories\/what-lies-beneath\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Lies Beneath"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/","name":"T\u00f3char Wetlands","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ga-IE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#organization","name":"T\u00f3char Wetlands","url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cropped-Tochar-Title-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cropped-Tochar-Title-Logo.png","width":823,"height":274,"caption":"T\u00f3char Wetlands"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wetlandsrestoration\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/fd7d8cc1b96ae7733bf43924d5a1c60f","name":"Emily Nolan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bea5f6016d4cad00625e684db797a7330cda2e7e2dcf3d2b57c2e9c3ddbe3d0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Emily Nolan"}}]}},"spectra_custom_meta":{"_uagb_previous_block_counts":["a:90:{s:21:\"uagb\/advanced-heading\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/blockquote\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/buttons\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/buttons-child\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/call-to-action\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/cf7-styler\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/column\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/columns\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/container\";i:0;s:21:\"uagb\/content-timeline\";i:0;s:27:\"uagb\/content-timeline-child\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/countdown\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/counter\";i:0;s:8:\"uagb\/faq\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/faq-child\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/forms\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-accept\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/forms-checkbox\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/forms-date\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-email\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-hidden\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/forms-name\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-phone\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-radio\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-select\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/forms-textarea\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-toggle\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/forms-url\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/gf-styler\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/google-map\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/how-to\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/how-to-step\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/icon\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/icon-list\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/icon-list-child\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/image\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/image-gallery\";i:0;s:13:\"uagb\/info-box\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/inline-notice\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/lottie\";i:0;s:21:\"uagb\/marketing-button\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/modal\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/popup-builder\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/post-button\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-carousel\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/post-excerpt\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/post-grid\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/post-image\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/post-masonry\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/post-meta\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-taxonomy\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-timeline\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/post-title\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/restaurant-menu\";i:0;s:26:\"uagb\/restaurant-menu-child\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/review\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/section\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/separator\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/slider\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/slider-child\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/social-share\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/social-share-child\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/star-rating\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/sure-cart-checkout\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/sure-cart-product\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/sure-forms\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/table-of-contents\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/tabs\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/tabs-child\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/taxonomy-list\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/team\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/testimonial\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/wp-search\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/instagram-feed\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/login\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/loop-builder\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/loop-category\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/loop-pagination\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/loop-reset\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/loop-search\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/loop-sort\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/loop-wrapper\";i:0;s:13:\"uagb\/register\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/register-email\";i:0;s:24:\"uagb\/register-first-name\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/register-last-name\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/register-password\";i:0;s:30:\"uagb\/register-reenter-password\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/register-terms\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/register-username\";i:0;}"],"_edit_lock":["1792506666:7"],"_wpml_location_migration_done":["1"],"_thumbnail_id":["4673"],"_edit_last":["7"],"_wpa_content_summary":[""],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["20"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_seo_title_score":["61"],"_yoast_wpseo_meta_description_score":["22"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["8"],"_cmplz_wsc_scanned_post":["1792504388"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:0:\"\";s:2:\"js\";s:0:\"\";s:18:\"current_block_list\";a:14:{i:0;s:14:\"core\/paragraph\";i:1;s:10:\"core\/image\";i:2;s:11:\"core\/search\";i:3;s:10:\"core\/group\";i:4;s:12:\"core\/heading\";i:5;s:17:\"core\/latest-posts\";i:6;s:20:\"core\/latest-comments\";i:7;s:13:\"core\/archives\";i:8;s:15:\"core\/categories\";i:9;s:14:\"core\/shortcode\";i:11;s:12:\"core\/columns\";i:12;s:11:\"core\/column\";i:14;s:17:\"core\/social-links\";i:15;s:16:\"core\/social-link\";}s:8:\"uag_flag\";b:0;s:11:\"uag_version\";s:10:\"1792506661\";s:6:\"gfonts\";a:0:{}s:10:\"gfonts_url\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"gfonts_files\";a:0:{}s:14:\"uag_faq_layout\";b:0;}"]},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-scaled.jpeg",2560,1119,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-300x131.jpeg",300,131,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-768x336.jpeg",768,336,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-1024x448.jpeg",1024,448,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-1536x672.jpeg",1536,672,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michael-looking-to-bog-machinery-felled-logs-behind-beside-tracks-1-2048x896.jpeg",2048,896,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Emily Nolan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/author\/emily-nolan\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A conversation with archaeologist Michael Stanley   By Helen Shaw, T\u00f3char Stories\u00a0\u00a0 I am standing at Toar Bog, in County Westmeath […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4643"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4670,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643\/revisions\/4670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tocharwetlands.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}