County: Offaly Site name: CLONAD (OF-CLO0002)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: OF018-079 Licence number: 04E0723
Author: Eoin Corcoran, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Road - class 1 togher
Period/Dating: Iron Age (800 BC-AD 339)
ITM: E 647235m, N 723885m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.263214, -7.291986
This site was identified by the IAWU during their 2001 survey as a primary togher orientated from north-east to south-west and recorded at five locations on the field surface. It was recorded as being composed of a single layer of planks, roundwoods, mixed brushwoods and pegs (IAWU 2002). A dendrochronological date of 650±9 BC was obtained from a sample of oak retrieved from this trackway.
Four cuttings were excavated along this trackway, one towards each end and two along its length. Three of the cuttings measured 10m by 5m and the fourth measured 6m by 4m.
The excavation revealed the remains of a northeast/south-west-orientated trackway dating to the Late Bronze Age (based on the date obtained by the IAWU). The trackway appeared to have allowed passage across a narrow part of the bog between two areas of dry land. The construction of this track appears to be relatively uniform along its length, although the damage in some of the cuttings makes it difficult to be sure. The basic construction consisted of transverse planks on longitudinal roundwoods and brushwood packing to create a walking surface c. 3.5m in width. A whitish-grey sandy deposit found on some of the wood is likely to be a by-product of the felling and transportation process, but also could conceivably be a deliberate deposit to provide better grip between the elements.
Further research into the woodworking evidence and into parallels for this trackway is ongoing, and the results of dating and environmental samples are pending.
Reference
IAWU 2002 Archaeological survey report: Clonad Bog, Co. Offaly. Unpublished report commissioned by Dœchas, the Heritage Service.
Whitaker, J. and Corcoran, E. 2020. Final Excavation Report for Clonad Bog, Co. Offaly (Licences: 04E0722- 04E0729), Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd., 2019. Unpublished report prepared by IAC Archaeology.
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