2001:1095 - BLACKWATER BOG, Cloniff and Curraghmore, Offaly

This site, a linear trackway in the central area of the bog, was excavated as part of the 2001 Bord na Móna (BnM) Mitigation Project. This track was recorded as a roundwood/plank togher and was traced for a length of 100m in 1999. The length of the site was extended to 170m during this season’s work. Two of the cuttings measured 1.5m by 5m, one measured 1m by 5m, and the fourth measured 3m by 5m. The cuttings were placed at the centre of the BnM milled fields as this is where the site was best preserved. The roundwoods and planks were placed longitudinally (superstructure) along the field surface to create an even walking surface. These longitudinal roundwoods and planks were then underlain by transverses (substructure) to raise the walkway off the wet peats. The construction method used in this togher appears better than that used for 01E0593 (No. 1094, Excavations 2001) as there were more superstructural timbers and some pegs associated with it.

Cutting 1 (1m x 5m) was located at the edge of the BnM field as a plank and a roundwood could be seen protruding from the drain edge. After excavation the wood exposed in the cutting consisted of two longitudinal planks running north-west/south-east. A transverse roundwood lying at the end of the two longitudinal planks appeared to delineate the end of the site in this cutting. The planks, which would have served as the walking surface of the togher, measured 0.15m and 0.2m in width and both had an average length of 2m before being cut by the drain at the southern end of the cutting. The wood was in fairly good condition and the end of one of the planks was worked to a chisel point.

Cutting 2 was c. 80m to the south of Cutting 1, and measured 1m by 5m. The main feature of the site in this cutting was a rounded longitudinal timber orientated north-north-west. It extended for a length of 3.8m into the south-east end of the cutting, where it had been cut by the drain. It was broken into four regular segments. At the south-eastern end of this timber a small plank was uncovered. There was a concentration of bark fragments surrounding these two elements at the southern end of the cutting. A transverse plank lay at the northern end of the cutting. Nearly touching this transverse plank and extending north-west into the end of the cutting was a very rough longitudinal timber which would originally have been placed over the transverse to add support to the walking surface of the togher. The timbers were generally very soft and fragile and broke into several pieces when sampled. A post was excavated from the south-west end of the cutting. Its top had been damaged by milling, but the end which had been inserted into the peat was worked to a wedge point. This post did not offer any physical support to the togher and its function is unclear.

Cutting 3 measured 1.5m by 5m and contained the remains of the longitudinal roundwood togher. The site was concentrated in the northern end of the cutting and consisted of c. 90% wood and c. 10% bark. The wood exposed in the cutting had been slightly disturbed by milling but the composition of the site at its time of use was still clear. It was composed of four planks lying longitudinally west-north-west/east-south-east. The planks all measured c. 2m in length and c. 0.08m in width. There were also two transverse elements lying at the southern end of the site and one at the northern end. The northern transverse lay under one of the longitudinal planks. As in Cutting 1, the transverses appear to have delineated the end of the site at the southern and northern ends of the cutting. Two pegs located outside the southern transverse may give further evidence to indicate that this particular part of the site ends here. The site in this cutting measured 1.4m by 2.5m by 0.12m in depth. Hazelnut shells, reeds, Calluna, bark and wood remains no longer in situ were also exposed throughout the cutting. The wood was in poor condition and the upper surfaces of the planks had been milled. There were patches of Eriophorum close to the wood.

Cutting 4, 3m by 5m, was located at the last sighting of the togher at its southernmost end and revealed a concentration of degraded roundwoods and posts. The site was mainly composed of longitudinal roundwoods, many of which were cracked and fractured along their length. The upper surfaces of the roundwoods were also damaged by milling. There were two main transverse elements to the north-west of the cutting. There were four posts, three of which were to the south-east of the cutting. All of the posts were badly damaged. They were all chisel-pointed and numerous flat facets were recorded on their points. The site measured 2.1m by 4m in total area at this location and was 0.2m in depth. The roundwoods probably represent what is left of the walking surface of the site, underlain by some very degraded transverses. The wood exposed in this cutting did not link up physically with the previously described cuttings but it does represent part of the same trackway. The trackway was traced from Cutting 3 along the BnM field surface to Cutting 4. It appears to stop and start along the southern stretch of the bog, owing to the drier nature of this side of the bog.

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