Structure - peatland

The National Monuments Service's description

An irregular deposit (L 0.96m min.; Wth 0.61m; D 0.07m) of five pieces of mixed brushwood and one roundwood on the field surface. The wood is fragmented and disturbed with no overall orientation or structure. A damaged chisel point is present on the roundwood. The site in moderately humified Sphagnum and Eriophorum peat with occasional ericaceous remains. Recorded by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (University College, Dublin) in 2001. The evidence is not sufficient to warrant its acceptance as the remains of an archaeological monument.

The original survey description was compiled by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (University College, Dublin). Assessed and revised by: Caimin O'Brien, Paul Walsh

04E0729
This site was recorded by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) in 2001 as an archaeological complex present at seven sightings across two drains and three field surfaces (Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) 2002). The site was examined in five cuttings, three measuring 2m by 2m, one 3m by 2m and one 5m by 2m. Although six cuttings were originally laid out, Cutting 1 was not excavated, as the site there is under no immediate threat given its depth below the field surface. Given the nature of the remains found on excavation, this site is difficult to interpret. There was a lot of natural wood present in this area, which confuses the evidence. This site is very close to the dry land to the east, which may explain the preponderance of natural wood. The remains in Cuttings 2 and 3 appeared to be mostly natural, but they did contain elements of structure. These two cuttings looked to have the remains of trackways or platforms within them, but with the limited nature of the excavation due to the presence of a stockpile and the amount of root material present it is difficult to say for certain what the remains represent. The remains in Cutting 4 at first looked like part of a platform but with increased depth looked like part of a trackway orientated to the north-east that may relate to the unexcavated remains in Cutting 1. Cuttings 5 and 6 appear, due to their proximity and the orientation of the elements, to be part of the same structure. The orientation of elements in these two cuttings would be consistent with them being part of a north-west/south-east-orientated trackway, but they could just as easily represent the edge of a platform. The lack of any sightings to the north-west may support the platform theory. Dating samples from all these cuttings should help to relate these remains to each other or to determine their lack of relationship.
In short, it is hard to draw conclusions about this site without investigating it further, due to the stockpile. It may be a series of trackways that meet at this point or it may be a complex of related structures. Should Bord na Mona decide to remove the stockpile of peat, further investigations may reveal more.
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 upload: 23 April 2009