Road - class 1 togher

The National Monuments Service's description

A substantial site (L 239.01m min.; Wth 2.87m; D 0.26m) of planks, roundwoods, mixed brushwood and pegs, orientated NE-SW. There is a marked WSW kink at the SW extent where the site is less well preserved. The surviving width (Wth 1.52-4.36m) and the depth (D 0.02-0.26m) varies along the length of the site. At one sighting it is composed of timbers (Wth 0.1-0.25m; D 0.02-0.05m), roundwoods (diam. 0.16m max), mixed brushwood and pegs. Most of these elements are transversely laid. The heavier elements are densely packed with the voids between them filled with brushwood. This material lies in poorly humified Sphagnum peat with some Eriophorum, fibrous roots and Menyanthes seeds. This site was dendrochronologically dated to 650±9 BC (Q10135).

Compiled by: Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (University College Dublin).

This site was identified by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) during their 2001 survey as a primary togher orientated from north-east to south-west and recorded at five locations on the field surface. It was recorded as being composed of a single layer of planks, roundwoods, mixed brushwoods and pegs (Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) 2002). A dendrochronological date of 650±9 BC was obtained from a sample of oak retrieved from this trackway. Four cuttings were excavated under licence no. 04E0723 along this trackway, one towards each end and two along its length. Three of the cuttings measured 10m by 5m and the fourth measured 6m by 4m. The excavation revealed the remains of a northeast/south-west-orientated trackway dating to the Late Bronze Age (based on the date obtained by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD)). The trackway appeared to have allowed passage across a narrow part of the bog between two areas of dry land. The construction of this track appears to be relatively uniform along its length, although the damage in some of the cuttings makes it difficult to be sure. The basic construction consisted of transverse planks on longitudinal roundwoods and brushwood packing to create a walking surface c. 3.5m in width. A whitish-grey sandy deposit found on some of the wood is likely to be a by-product of the felling and transportation process, but also could conceivably be a deliberate deposit to provide better grip between the elements. Further research into the woodworking evidence and into parallels for this trackway is ongoing, and the results of dating and environmental samples are pending.
Reference
Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) 2002 Archaeological survey report: Clonad Bog, Co. Offaly. Unpublished report commissioned by Dœchas, the Heritage Service.
Eoin Corcoran, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3.

Date of revision: 23 April 2009