County: Offaly Site name: BALLYKEAN BOG, KILBEG
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0798
Author: Jane Whitaker, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3.
Site type: Archaeological wood
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 650575m, N 719965m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.227678, -7.242546
This site was initially recorded by the IAWU in 2003 as a secondary togher oriented east-north-east/westsouth-west and was identified in two locations. At its east-north-east extent (OF-KLG0019a) it consisted of over 60 pieces of brushwood laid up to three pieces deep on the field surface. The west-south-west sighting (OF-KLG0019b) was better preserved and consisted of nine pieces of brushwood 0.4m below the field surface, visible in the drain face. At the time of excavation, only three pieces of wood remained in the drain face sighting. A cutting measuring 2m by 4m was established at this location. It was noted that sighting OF-KLG0019a had been almost completely removed by the production process.
The site was composed of the three pieces of brushwood visible in the drain face. These brushwoods were 36mm, 23mm and 42mm in diameter. They had a maximum length of 0.42m. The cutting was terminated after excavating 1m west-south-west from its east-north-east extent. A series of slot-trenches were excavated along the length of the cutting, but no further archaeological wood was recovered. The three pieces of wood uncovered were laid parallel to one another, but their function was not determined by excavation.
