About 100 miles northwest of Edinburgh in a rural corner of Scotland sits a tiny island with only 190 residents. Mostly populated by fishermen and farmers, Lismore only measures nine square miles, just slightly bigger than Key West, Florida. The island doesn’t even have a local pub or coffee shop, but that doesn’t mean this rural community doesn’t have its share of excitement.
Recently, residents of Lismore, alongside Dr. Clare Ellis of Argyll Archaeology, uncovered compelling archaeological evidence of the long-lost monastery of Lios Mòr. The monastery is believed to have been founded in the sixth century by Saint Mo Luóc, an Irish missionary who converted many Picts in northern Scotland to Christianity. Lios Mòr is the island’s ancient Scots Gaelic name that translates to “great site” or “great enclosure,” a name that perhaps indicates the island was an important pre-Christian gathering site. The find is a heartwarming example of a community coming together to uncover a shared history, and is published in the October 2026 issue of the journal Antiquity.
Read Full Article: https://www.popsci.com/science/lismore-medieval-monastery-scotland/
