2002:1274 - DERRYNAGRAN, Longford

During the 1999 survey of Derrycolumb 3 bog, two sites were identified in section in the eastern drain face. 99DNSE0065A was identified during the field survey as two hurdle panels lying side by side 0.08–0.15m below the field surface. It was noted at that time that the sails of the two panels appeared to be lying perpendicular to one another because of the orientation of the sails exposed at the drain edge. Approximately 0.17–0.2m below the hurdle panels the second site, a substantial brushwood and roundwood site, was visible, 0.35–0.78m below the field surface. This site was exposed for a length of over 13m along the drain face. The two sites were excavated in a single cutting to investigate their relationship, if any. These sites were situated toward the eastern extent of Derrycolumb 3 bog, four drains from the western extent of Derrymanny (dryland) island. The drain face was re-examined, and it was established that the lower site was exposed in the drain face for c. 9m. A single cutting, measuring 3m east–west by 9m, was established on the field surface adjacent to the drain edge, encompassing both sites.

The hurdle site was composed of two hurdle panels that were joined together with a long, north–south-oriented roundwood that had been incorporated in the weave of each panel. This roundwood extended from each side of the woven panels. It had flat, metal-cut, toolmarks on each end. The northern end of this roundwood was supported by a transverse (east–west) roundwood, 0.41m long and 50mm in diameter.

The northern hurdle panel was constructed of four east–west-oriented sails, around which the rods were woven. The weave pattern appears to have been relatively simple, with alternate rods being woven over and under the sails, and the four sails were all squared in section, having had their upper and lower surfaces trimmed along their lengths. The sails were 0.3–0.4m apart and had a surviving length of 1m and an average width of 0.33m. The western extents of the sails had machine damage at the drain edge.

The southern panel was constructed of five north–south-oriented sails, on average 3m long. These were 0.36–0.44m apart. The rods averaged 10–20mm in diameter and had a maximum length of 2m from the eastern extent of the hurdle to the western edge of the cutting, where they were truncated by the drain edge. The weave pattern in this panel appears to have been similar to that in the first panel, in that alternate rods were woven over and under the sails. All of the rods were broken in several pieces. It also appears that, as with the northern panel, there were brushwood rods alongside the eastern and western extents of four of the five sails. The roundwood that was incorporated in the two panels was in this hurdle, between the second and third sails from the east. The peat separating the hurdle site from the structure below was 0.05–0.25m deep. The lower site was 9m long and 2m wide. It was composed of a haphazard arrangement of roundwood and brushwood elements. These elements did not extend for the full width of the cutting. In the northern half of the cutting the elements were mainly oriented east–west, and in the southern half they were mainly oriented north–south or north-east/south-west. The elements were composed mainly of roundwoods (80%), with the lighter brushwood (20%) generally underneath the heavier elements. The elements were laid two to four deep in places, and many had bark intact. They were uneven in shape, and many were broken. Not many toolmarks were noted. Those present had been made with a metal tool and were slightly concave.

Test-trenches were excavated to the north and south of the cutting to investigate the orientation and exact nature of the site, as were the drain face to the east and the opposing, western drain face. No archaeological wood was revealed in the trenches of the opposing drain face. It is possible therefore that the site was merely a short stretch of togher, or it may have been an elongated platform structure. It is also possible that up to half of its width has been destroyed by drain cutting. The site may therefore have been wider originally, possibly measuring up to 9m by 4m, which would have been a substantial platform. Samples from both the hurdle and the roundwood and brushwood site below it have been sent for 14C dating, and samples of the intervening peat have been retained.