2001:1098 - BLACKWATER BOG, Curraghmore, Offaly

These sites were excavated as part of the 2001 Bord na Móna (BnM) Mitigation Project. Five brushwood and roundwood platforms were located at the south-eastern end of this bog in close proximity to one another. There were several other sites in the surrounding area but these were not targeted for excavation in 2001. The wooden platforms were located on the field surface and had all been affected by either milling or drain-cutting. Two of the platforms were badly degraded/milled. The remaining three, which were excavated in their entirety, were composed of tightly packed longitudinally placed brushwood and roundwood. The cutting locations and size were determined in the mitigation strategy document prepared by Dúchas and the National Museum. The size of these cuttings was altered and expanded as necessary.

Cutting 10, 99CGM0029a, was located beside the drain that divides the milled peat bog from the uncut virgin bog. The initial size of the cutting was 3m by 3m, but this was later extended by 2m on its north-eastern side to incorporate the whole width of the site. There was a substantial amount of milled wood on the surface of the bog along a 20m stretch of this drain. The wood probably represents a series of small platforms rather than a continuous stretch of trackway. This platform structure was on the field surface and was therefore slightly milled. It was located in well-humified greyish-brown Sphagnum spp peat which contained clumps of Eriophorum (bog cotton) and occasional Phragmites (reeds). The platform was composed of roundwood (30%) and brushwood (70%), which for the most part were longitudinally laid. It was composed of one distinct layer and measured 2.25m by 3.5m in total area. There were some transverse timbers lying beside the drain edge but these were probably displaced from the main site during re-ditching of the drain. The roundwoods bounded the south-western side of the platform and were identified as oak and ash timbers. Milling had heavily damaged the ends of some of the roundwoods. Pegs were scattered around the platform, probably to hold the structure in place. Some tree roots were excavated at the north-eastern side of the cutting. Some of the ends of the brushwood and roundwood were worked to chisel and wedge points. The facets were flat to concave in shape.

Cutting 2, 99CGM0025A–B and 26A, appeared to have only a small amount of wood remaining. The area had been milled since 1999 and only part of 99CGM0025B was detectable. A 2m by 2m cutting was excavated over what was originally recorded as 99CGM0025B and revealed the remains of a brushwood site measuring 1.07m by 1.44m. The site was composed exclusively of cracked and broken, brushwood, loosely spaced. Approximately 70% of the brushwood elements were orientated in a north-west/south-east direction, while the remaining 30% were orientated east–west. There was no other wood in the surrounding BnM field surface and therefore this site probably represents the remains of a brushwood platform similar to that excavated at Cutting 1. The site lay within red/brown Sphagnum spp peat which oxidised to a grey colour on exposure. The peat was slightly mottled in places and contained a small amount of Calluna, ericaceous roots and some reeds (Phragmites spp).

Cutting 3, 99CGM16a, was located beside a drain as the site could be seen protruding from the drain face. The site had in fact been cut by the drain, only its southern side remaining. Up to 0.3m of peat was removed to reveal the site. The upper layer consisted of orange/brown Sphagnum spp peat with a low humification. Inclusions of Eriophorum, a small amount of Calluna, some small leaves and one hazelnut shell were also present in this peat layer. The site was composed of two distinct layers and measured 1.25m in width and 0.8m in depth. Its length could not be properly determined as it had been cut by the drain on its southern side. It could not, however, have measured more than 5.55m since it was not noted in the opposite drain face. The upper layer (superstructure) consisted of eight longitudinally placed roundwoods lying parallel to each other. There appeared to be some transverses close to the drain edge, but closer inspection indicated that these had been dislodged during the ditching of the drains. The roundwoods were in a good state of preservation. Four pegs were also noted during excavation. The certainty that the northern side of the platform ends in this cutting comes from the fact that the vast majority of the ends of the longitudinal roundwoods were worked. The second layer of the platform (substructure) consisted of tightly packed brushwood rods (70%), some roundwoods (30%) and some small twigs used to infill the gaps. Some small pegs were exposed around the edges of the structure. These would presumably have held the structure in place. The pieces of brushwood, five deep in places, were placed longitudinally at the edges of the site and transversely in the central area. Both the transverses and longitudinals were similar in size. The roundwoods measured 0.06–0.09m in diameter. The wood was in moderately good condition, with bark remaining on most of it. The peat surrounding and underneath the platform structure was well-humified orange Sphagnum peat which oxidised to brown on exposure. It was very wet and smelled of sulphur. A lot of Phragmites reeds were visible and many beetle cases were present. The worked ends were recorded and most of them were worked to chisel points. The facets were cut with a metal axe and one of the worked ends bore a raised signature.

Cutting 4, 99CGM0022a and 39a, were recorded in the drain face as a composite concentration of brushwood (99CGM0022a) during the reassessment survey in 1999 and a large roundwood transverse timber 0.2m above the brushwood (99CGM0039a). This part of the drain has been re-ditched and a new BnM drainage pipe laid down since 1999, and therefore the site had been destroyed in the drain edge recorded by Noel Dunne. A lot of wood was strewn around on the field surface. A cutting measuring 3m by 3m was laid out in an area close to the drain edge which did not appear to be too disturbed. After the removal of over 0.3m of peat this cutting revealed nine pieces of wood at its southern end. Two of the wood pieces were pegs/posts and the remaining seven were roundwood (40%) and brushwood (60%). There was no particular arrangement to the wood and it was all in poor condition. This wood probably represents the end of the site which was recorded in the nearby drain face in 1999. The wood was located in well-humified grey/brown Sphagnum spp peat which contained clumps of Eriophorum, ericaceous roots and frequent occurrences of Phragmites reeds.

Cutting 5, 99CGM0011a–b, was identified as a togher during the reassessment survey in 1999. A 3.5m by 2m cutting was placed over the best-preserved portion of the site in 2001, close to the drain edge where some roundwoods, cut by the drain, were visible. The cutting revealed four closely spaced roundwoods running north-east from the drain edge. All of the roundwoods had been damaged by milling and exposure to the elements. The site measured 0.5m in width and its length could not be properly determined as it was cut by the drain on the southern side; however, it could not have measured more than 2m since it was not noted in the opposing drain face. Two of the roundwoods were identified as oak. The site lay in well-humified orange Sphagnum peat. There were concentrations of Eriophorum surrounding the roundwoods, and small amounts of Calluna were evident throughout the cutting. There was no substructure or pegs associated with this structure, which suggests that it was probably a short-lived platform or foothold across a wet patch of bog.

These platforms were all probably constructed around the same time, although dating will confirm this. It is possible that these sites were intended to serve as small dry platforms for hunting or other such activities. This may be revealed through the analysis of the peat and further research at the post-excavation stage. Alternatively, some of the smaller, flimsier structures may represent footholds in an otherwise wet stretch of bog.

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