2008:1087 - BallyBeg Bog, Ballybeg, Tipperary

This site was identified as a brushwood togher during the Peatland Survey 2006 (TN-BLG009a–b) and was subsequently dated to 1690 to 1380 bc. It was recorded at two sightings as being composed of densely laid longitudinal brushwood visible in two drain faces, 30m apart. The site was initially traced for 30m and believed to be orientated north to south. The excavation of two cuttings, one at each sighting, indicated that the site was in fact two separate sites, which included a hurdle panel at the site, initially identified as TN-BLG009a, and a togher at site TN-BLG009b.
Hurdle panel
Cutting 1 was orientated north–south and measured 3m by 6m. It revealed that the site was composed of a single brushwood hurdle panel located 0.26m below the field surface. The hurdle panel was orientated north–south and was truncated by the drain on its southern side. This site was located 4.1m west of the possible togher 08E0394 (see No. 1085 above).
The hurdle panel measured 1.4m in length, 1.07m in width and 0.11m in depth. It was composed of light brushwood that included four regularly spaced sails interwoven with tightly packed rods. The sails were laid 0.28–0.31m apart and measured 0.26–1.12m in length with the maximum length representing the only sail that remained intact. The other sails were fragmented in antiquity or truncated by the drain. The rods were tightly packed 0–0.04m apart creating an overall surface that measured 0.5–0.64m in width. The brushwood elements varied in diameter from 0.02m to 0.03m. The peat was composed of moderately humified sphagnum-rich peat with occasional calluna and eriophorum inclusions.
Togher
Cutting 2 was located c. 30m west-north-west of the hurdle panel. The cutting measured 5m by 3m and was orientated west-north-west/east-south-east to follow the orientation of the togher. Excavation of the site revealed that it was a short brushwood and roundwood togher. The westernmost 2m of the site was orientated east–west before it turned to the north-east. The site was composed of two layers of construction. The upper layer was composed of well-preserved densely laid brushwood transverse elements with occasional longitudinally laid elements at the edges of the site. This layer measured 1.2m in width, 0.1m in depth and 4.1m in length. A total of 30 worked ends were recorded from this context. The brushwood elements measured 0.05–1.2m in length and 0.01–0.04m in diameter. The lower layer was composed of longitudinally laid roundwood and heavy brushwoods underlain at the eastern end of the cutting by transverse and longitudinally laid roundwood and brushwood. It measured 4.4m in length, 0.6–1.4m in width and 0.1m in depth. The roundwood elements measured 0.06–0.1m in diameter and 0.53–3m in length while the brushwood measured 0.01–0.05m in diameter and 0.05–0.35m in length. In total, nine worked ends were recorded within the upper layer of the site. The larger elements in this layer clearly acted to support and stabilise the overlying brushwood layer. The underlying peat was composed of moderately humified Sphagnum cuspidatum with occasional phragmites and Menyanthes trifoliate inclusions.
A single trench measuring 2m in length and 1m in width was excavated 2m north-east of and parallel to Cutting 2. A small number of roundwood and heavy brushwood longitudinals underlain by roundwood and brushwood transverse elements were uncovered 1.15m below the field surface. The elements were quite sparsely laid and measured 0.04–0.16m in diameter. It was more representative of the lower layer of the togher and no overlying brushwood was uncovered. No further trenches were excavated given the health and safety issues with excavating to depths of over 1m within the bog. The togher may have continued beyond Trench 1 but there was no evidence for it in the drain faces to the north-east or the south-west.