County: Kilkenny Site name: Baunmore Bog
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KK008-182 Licence number: 09E0296
Author: Jane Whitaker & Nicola Rohan
Site type: Road-Class 3 togher
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 625142m, N 665632m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.741183, -7.627668
The following describes the results of archaeological excavations at Inchirourke townland in Baunmore Bog, co. Tipperary (South). The site was excavated under the licensee Nicola Rohan then of Archaeological Development Services (ADS).
A single cutting, orientated east to west and measuring 4m in length by 3m in width, was excavated over the site identified as a possible togher (KK008-182) during the Peatland Survey 2006 in the northeast of Baunmore Bog.
It was subsequently dated to 760 to 220 BC [2σ], indicating that it was Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age in date. Excavation confirmed that the site was a togher orientated northwest-southeast and was traced for a surviving length of approximately 30m.
The site varied in composition but was predominantly composed of regularly laid longitudinal roundwood and brushwood elements that, at some locations, were underlain and overlain by transverse and longitudinally laid roundwood and brushwood elements.
A total of twelve brushwood pegs were recorded, eleven of which ran along the northern side of the togher.
At the eastern end of the cutting, the longitudinal elements were overlain by regularly laid brushwood transverses that were densely laid 0.01–0.04m apart. They were underlain by longitudinally laid roundwood and brushwood. The longitudinal elements were also regularly laid, 0.02–0.20m apart. They were overlain by three transverse brushwood elements at the western end of the cutting.
The southern ends of the transverses were overlain by longitudinally laid brushwood, which may represent a repair event to the togher. Overall the elements were poorly preserved and fragile despite their depth below the field surface.
A small number of wood chips were recorded on the northern side of the togher possibly indicating that wood working took place on site.
The longitudinal elements ranged from 0.16–2.24m in length and 0.04–0.12m in diameter but were predominantly composed of roundwood elements. The transverse elements ranged from 0.25–1.06m in length and 0.03–0.07m in diameter while the two pegs measured 0.09–0.18m in length and from 0.02–0.05m in diameter.
No wood working was recorded on the pegs as the tips were torn.
Two slot trenches, measuring 2m length and 0.60m in width, were excavated to the northwest of the cutting in order to trace the site. Slot trench 1 was located 1.6m northwest of the cutting. At this location the togher was located 0.90m below the field surface and was composed of tightly packed longitudinally laid roundwood and brushwood elements underlain by a single roundwood transverse.
The site measured 1.16m in width and 0.15m in depth.
Slot trench 2 was excavated 3.2m to the northwest of Slot trench 1. At this location the togher was composed of slightly displaced transverse brushwood underlain by densely laid roundwood and brushwood longitudinals located 0.70m below the field surface.
The togher was not visible beyond the confines of the production field.
Please see final report:
Whitaker, J. and Rohan, N. 2019. Final Excavation Report for Baunmore Bog (Licences: 09E0294, 09E0295, 09E0296), Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd., 2019. Unpublished report prepared by IAC Archaeology.
c/o IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
