1999:752 - KILLAGHINTOBER BOG, Tumbeagh, Offaly

These sites were recorded as two separate trackways during the reassessment survey in 1998. Excavations in 1999 revealed that they were actually both the same site, a linear plank trackway traced across the Bord na Móna fields for a length of 420m. This plank trackway has been dated by The Queen's University of Belfast Radiocarbon Laboratory to 940 BC.

The site varied slightly in composition along its length, as did the level of preservation. Eight cuttings were placed along the length of the site, which was a simple trackway construction composed of longitudinal oak planks laid end to end and underlain at the northern end by transverse planks. The average diameter of the superstructural walkway planks was 0.25m. The superstructural planks were quite substantial and would have acted as a flat walking surface to facilitate safe crossing over the bog. There were no evidence of pegs or mortices in these cuttings, and the impression one gets from its simple construction is that this site was not intended to have been in use for a long period of time.

This trackway appears to differ slightly at the southern and northern ends. The cuttings excavated on the southern side exposed a linear plank trackway constructed of split oak planks laid end to end. The trackway appeared to be quite disturbed at certain locations, and there was no evidence of mortices, pegs or supporting transverses. The cuttings excavated at the northern end of the trackway showed evidence of transverse supports underneath the plank walkway in the form of planks and roundwoods. The above evidence suggests that transverse supports were required at the southern end of the bog to prevent the plank walkway from sinking, as it may have been much wetter in this area.

Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3.