Faddan More Psalter used as a liner to stiffen the cover somewhat. Low oxygen levels in the bog provide unusual preservation conditions, and bogs were often used by Irish monks as hiding places for valuables in the face of Viking raids. In addition to low oxygen levels, sphagnum moss, of which the peat bog is composed, produces an antibiotic substance called sphagnan that binds with proteins on the surface of microorganisms, immobilising them. Its highly reactive carbonyl groups can alter chemicals and nutrients that would otherwise decompose organic matter. And above all the sphagnum moss causes organic material to undergo chemical changes itself
Lough Derravaragh south of this raised bog. Much of the high bog possesses vegetation typical of an Irish Midland raised bog, with such species as ling heather ("Calluna vulgaris") and hare's tail cottongrass ("Eriophorum vaginatum"). The hummock-forming bog moss, "Sphagnum papillosum" has been recorded situated around one third of the high bog as has the more scarce "Sphagnum imbricatum". Overall, sphagnum covers around one-third of the high bog area. The centre of the bog is wet with stagnant water in places. The aquatic bog moss "Sphagnum cuspidatum" has been recorded in the hollows of the bog. There are dried-out channels of the