Platform - peatland

The National Monuments Service's description

This site was located in the industrial peatlands of Cloonshannagh Bog. It was first recorded in the 2013 Reassessment Peatland Survey as a platform with no discernible layers, visible in the drain face 0.43-0.95m below the bog surface (Whitaker 2014).

The site was excavated in 2014 (licence 14E0262). It was dated to cal. 749–407 BC (UBA 26563). The excavation revealed a moderately dense arrangement of mainly E-W oriented brushwood and roundwood elements contained within an area measuring 1.6m x 3m. The elements were in poor condition. The underlying wood was composed of a sparse scatter of haphazardly arranged poorly preserved brushwood elements, contained with an area measuring 0.6m x 1.65m in size. Seven mainly upright brushwood pegs formed the basal layer of this site. A small wooden oak stave with an incised motif was recovered in the upper layer. Hazel was the preferred wood type selected for pegs, brushwood and worked ends followed by ash, alder, birch and willow (Coughlan and Whitaker 2019).

Compiled by: Femke Vleeshouwer/Jane Whitaker/Tim Coughlan

Date of upload: 16 April 2020

References

Whitaker, J. 2014 Re‐assessment Peatland Survey 2013, Blackwater, Boora, Derrydreenagh, Mountdillon Group of Bogs, County Offaly, Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon. Unpublished report prepared by ADS for Bord na Móna.

Coughlan, T & Whitaker, J 2019 Final excavation report Cloonshannagh Bog, Co Roscommon. Bord na Mona Peatland Archaeological Services 2014-2017. Unpublished report submitted to DOEHLG & BnM