2003:1517 - CLONCREEN BOG, Ballykilleen, Offaly

This excavation was to include the fragmentary sites, OF-BKL0062 and OF-BKL0063, classified as worked wood in situ, and the unworked wood in situ site, OF-BKL0065. These sites were quite fragmentary at the time of the 2002 Peatland Survey. Because of the presence of milled wood on the field surface when the area was visited prior to excavation, the exact location of these sites was not established at that time. A single cutting measuring 8m by 4m was recommended for excavation, to encompass the three sites. The entire field surface between the GPS location of sites OF-BKL0062 and OF-BKL0064 was lightly cleaned by shovel scraping. None of the structures recorded in 2002 were clearly identifiable from either the catalogue description or the photographs. An area with in situ wood was defined and a cutting measuring 5m by 3m was established.

The remaining overlying peat was well-decomposed Sphagnum peat with frequent inclusions of organics such as ericaceous remains and occasional Phragmites in places. The cutting contained fourteen brushwoods and a single roundwood. The elements were mainly oriented north-north-east/south-south-west, with the exception of two of the lighter brushwoods, which were oriented east-west. The elements ranged in diameter from 21 to 42mm and were 0.14–1.72m in length. The upper surfaces of some of the elements had been damaged by machinery, but the site did not appear to have been badly disturbed. The site was not traced in any direction outside of the cutting.

As with the previous excavations carried out by the author in Cloncreen Bog, the actual orientation and function of the excavated site is uncertain.

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