2001:824 - DERRYCOLUMB 5 BOG, Derrindiff, Longford

This site was excavated as part of the 2001 Bord na Móna Archaeological Mitigation Project. The cutting size recommended in the mitigation strategy document was 2m by 2m but this was extended to 3m by 4m to establish the orientation of the site and its relationship to surrounding sites.

A lot of wood was exposed at the site location and in the immediate environs, as well as on the surrounding field surfaces. There was only a small amount of peat cover remaining over most of the site, up to 0.06m deep. It was moderately decomposed and Sphagnum-rich with small clumps of Eriophorum which were mainly concentrated in the south-west corner of the cutting. The site was composed of transversely laid brushwood and roundwood rods, closely placed. The portion of the site that was excavated was composed of approximately 55% brushwood and 45% roundwood elements. The site was running in a north-north-east/south-south-west direction. The larger elements were concentrated in the southern part of the cutting. On first viewing it appeared that there were two separate sites, one of brushwood and the other of roundwood elements, running east–west, side by side within the cutting. It was discovered during excavation, however, that none of the elements extended beyond the eastern edge of the cutting. The northern part of the excavated site was composed of transverse brushwoods while the southern part was composed of heavier brushwood and roundwoods. The elements ranged in diameter from 0.02m to 0.14m. Almost all of the elements were dried out and damaged from being exposed close to the field surface. Only eight of the 44 elements recorded had tool-marks. The tool-marks were mainly concave in shape and were chisel and wedge points. The cutting angles ranged from 5° to 80°, the majority averaging 45°.

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