County: Tipperary Site name: DERRYNAFLAN, Lurgoe
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Raghnall O Floinn, National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
Site type: Roads - toghers
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 610748m, N 649045m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.592574, -7.841368
Peat-milling operations in the bog around Derrynaflan revealed traces of a number of wooden trackways. At least four could be traced between the bog islands of Derrynaflan and Derrynabrone to the east. Part of one of these (Togher A) was excavated. It consisted of straight, trimmed ash or hazel branches, up to 4m in length and 40-160mm in diameter, laid in a single layer along the line of the road. Small birch rods 15-30mm in diameter, with pointed ends, were scattered between the larger timbers. The trackway measured 1m in width and the timbers were held in place by vertical posts set 0.5m apart on either side. The trackway lay at a depth of 1.1 m and preliminary pollen analysis suggests that it is prehistoric - probably Bronze Age - in date.
