2000:0819 - DERRYNAGUN BOG, Lemanaghan, Offaly

This excavation was carried out in Derrynagun Bog, Co. Offaly, as part of the 2000 Bord na Móna Archaeological Mitigation Project. This site was recorded in 1998 by the IAWU during a reassessment survey carried out on behalf of Bord na Móna. It was located at the centre of Derrynagun Bog on the field surface, 0.4m from the drain edge. The site was thought to be a hurdle, because the small area investigated revealed two transverse elements underlain by compactly laid, longitudinal brushwood. Excavation revealed that the site was not a hurdle but a small brushwood deposit similar to several others first identified within Derrynagun Bog as puddle toghers. While the small area investigated in 1998 (0.74–1m) was somewhat hurdle-like in appearance, the remainder of the site was insubstantial. The whole site was contained within an area measuring 0.9m x 1m. The site was composed of fifteen brushwood rods, ranging from 4mm to 16mm in diameter, laid in a north-east/south-west direction. These were overlain by a single transverse brushwood 29mm in diameter. This transverse was held in place by two small pegs, 50mm and 90mm in diameter. Many of the elements had bark intact, and four had simple, flat-faceted, chisel-point toolmarks. There are several enigmatic sites within this particular zone of activity in Derrynagun Bog. Rather than being a hurdle panel it is more likely that this site is associated with the dense spread of similarly constructed sites 15m to the east, which were excavated by Ellen OCarroll this season (see Excavations 2000, Nos 820–6).

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