2007:827 - LULLYMORE, Kildare

Following on from the Peatland Survey conducted by ADS on behalf of Bord na Móna in 2004, one site was excavated in Lullymore East Bog. Excavation concentrated on a gravel trackway. The trackway was orientated from north-east to south-west across the bog and was located in between the dry-land islands of Lullybeg and Lullymore. A single cutting was excavated over this trackway.

The gravel trackway was dated during the survey to cal AD 380 to 660 (Whitaker 2004). It clearly spans the narrow stretch of bog between Lullybeg and Lullymore islands, where there is an Early Christian ecclesiastical site (KD012–006). It seems likely that the presence of the gravel trackway is related to this ecclesiastical site, as it would have provided a direct route to and from it across the bog. The gravel for the construction of this trackway is likely to have come from the islands at either end.

The original construction of this trackway was of gravel and wood. The trackway provided a walking surface that was 4m wide and was traceable across the bog for a distance of 550m.

It seems that following a period of disuse of the gravel trackway another narrower wooden structure was constructed alongside it along the same orientation. This trackway was constructed of longitudinally laid roundwoods on a base of brushwood. This structure was a maximum of 2.4m wide. The trackway probably served the same purpose as the gravel trackway by connecting the dry-land islands across a narrow stretch of bog. It seems likely that this is part of another structure identified by the survey and as such may date to AD 900 to 1160 (Whitaker 2004), post-dating the gravel trackway by 300 years.

Reference
Whitaker, J. 2004 Peatland survey 2004: Derrygreenagh Bogs, Counties Offaly and Kildare. Unpublished report. Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Dublin.

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