Road - class 1 togher

The National Monuments Service's description

This togher (L 380m; Wth 2.5m; D 0.3m) was excavated in part by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) in 1991 (Moloney et al. 1993, 36-41). It was orientated E-W and was composed of longitudinal oak planks (approx. Wth 0.3-0.4m), ash roundwood and hazel brushwood (diam. 0.02-0.04m). When inspected in 1999, it was described as a very substantial togher (L 426m; Wth 4m max.) composed of oak planks, split timbers, roundwood, brushwood and pegs, which extended in an ENE-WSW direction across nineteen fields (Dunne 1999, 29, 99DBSE007A-T). Sections of the togher were either located on the field surface and being milled or were close to the surface and in imminent danger. The various elements were largely aligned longitudinally though some split timber and roundwood transverses, orientated N-S, were noted. Some of the roundwood transverses (diam. 0.3m diam.) formed a substructure underlying the oak planks (Wth 0.25m-1.6m). At one point, an oak plank along with some roundwood formed the core of the togher and they were flanked by compact brushwood beds. At another point the oak plank was flanked by split timbers. A number of roundwood and brushwood elements showed evidence of woodworking. Excavation in 2001 revealed that the togher was of Bronze Age date, 1412 BC (Whitaker 2009, 20). The upper surface was composed of large half-split oak planks laid longitudinally. Short transverse roundwood supported the split planks, which were, in turn, supported by longitudinal brushwood and roundwood. Pegs were used to hold the roundwood and split planks in place. An Iron Age platform (LF022-119----) overlay the togher (ibid., 45). A large, degraded, split-oak plank (L 6.5m; Wth 0.62m max.; T 0.25m max.) located on the headland some 300m to the NE was probably displaced from this togher (Dunne 35, 99DBSE0024A). The plank displayed three mortices or notches and at one end a large oval knot-hole which may also have been used as a mortice.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney based on data supplied by the former Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit, University College, Dublin, and the Archaeological Development Services.

The attached image is copyright and uploaded courtesy of Archaeological Development Services Ltd.

Date of upload: 26 August 2011