County: Offaly Site name: TUMBEAGH BOG
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0404
Author: Jane Whitaker, ADS Ltd.
Site type: Structure - peatland
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 615397m, N 729687m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.317234, -7.768917
Excavations were carried out in Tumbeagh Bog, Co. Offaly, as part of the 1999 Bord na Móna Archaeological Mitigation Project.
This site was initially recognised as an irregular grouping of brushwood rods and pegs visible on the field surface. It was composed of small rods and pegs with no discernible orientation or construction pattern. The wood was concentrated in an area measuring 2.5m x 2.8m. The site appeared to have a single construction phase and was 0.08–0.12m deep. It was composed of over 300 irregularly laid brushwood rods, approximately 50% of which were pegs. These were set into the peat at angles of 70° to 90°, and most were broken in several pieces. These elements varied from 0.04m to 0.46m long, none having diameters of more than 20mm. From the broken nature of the pegs, the site appears to have been disturbed by both the milling process and the weight of machinery passing over it.
From its small size, lack of orientation and the large quantity of pegs, it appears that the site may have been a small platform. The surrounding field surfaces were investigated, but it would appear that the whole site was contained within a 2.5m-by-2.8m area. A small gravel knoll c. 20m in diameter was found 30m to the east of the excavated site. This knoll is the highest point in the bog, rising c. 8m above the surrounding production fields. The underlying peat conditions would suggest alternating wet and dry conditions at the time of the platform's construction. It is hoped that further analysis will provide a more conclusive explanation for the construction of the site in this location.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3
