County: Offaly Site name: TICKNEVIN BOG, CLONCANNON/DERRIES
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E1000
Author: Sinclair Turrell, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3.
Site type: Peatland survey
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 665433m, N 729533m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.312031, -7.018090
Ticknevin Bog, Co. Offaly, is situated south-west of Edenderry, east of the unclassified road from Edenderry to Rathangan. It is bordered to the southeast by Glashabaun North Bog and the northern limit is defined by the Grand Canal. Adjoining the northwest is an area of private bog and there is pastureland to the south-west and east. Access to the bog is provided by a lane running east from the Edenderry-Rathangan road to a Bord na M—na (BnM) tea centre. Ticknevin Bog covers an area of 463ha and is part of the BnM Derrygreenagh group of works. This bog has only recently started milled peat production after a period of sod peat production with a bagger. Consequently the bog is still relatively high, with fields at the same level. The northern perimeter of the bog is lower than elsewhere, having been cut by hand in the 19th to early 20th centuries and subsequently levelled prior to BnM commencing sod-peat production in the 1960s in the western part of the bog. The entire bog has been developed for milled peat in the last five to six years.
Five sites were identified and recorded on this bog. These consisted of a possible tertiary togher, a possible structure and three isolated pieces of worked wood. All of the sites were disturbed or damaged and there was much evidence for redeposited peat across the bog. Of the two dated sites, one of them, OF-TKN005, was modern, while the other, OF-TKN002, returned a date of 4900-4890 BC. There was a definite metal cut toolmark on this sample and, from consultation with Beta Analytic, it seems there must have been some contamination of the sample to produce such an early date.
