2009:686 - TOBERDALY AND CLONIN, BALLYBEG BOG, Offaly

Archaeological investigations were carried out in advance of the proposed preservation in situ of a prehistoric site in Toberdaly and Clonin townlands in Ballybeg Bog, Co. Offaly, from 10 to 28 August 2009. A stone enclosure (OF011–060) and stone-lined hearths (OF011–059) were initially identified during survey by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (IAWU) in 2001, when they were recorded as a barrow and prehistoric habitation site. The sites, which are located 15m apart, were partially excavated by Ellen O’Carroll (formerly ADS Ltd) in 2002 (Excavations 2002, No. 1580). These features were located on either side of a Bord na M)na production field that was subjected to testing by Jane Whitaker (ADS Ltd) in September 2008 (Excavations 2008, No. 1018). The testing determined that the archaeological activity, on the site as a whole, was spread over three production fields and measured c. 45m in length (north–south) and a minimum of 35m in width.

The most recent archaeological investigations took place at the stone enclosure (Site B) and stone-lined hearths (Site A) in order to obtain reliable dates for the site. In Site A, the area previously investigated was reopened and reinvestigated. In Site B, a previously excavated trench (Trench 1) in the southwest quadrant of the stone enclosure was extended eastwards in order to obtain a complete section across the enclosure and a more comprehensive understanding of the stratigraphy on the site. In the south-east quadrant a sondage was also excavated through the south-east side of the enclosure. Throughout the site, much of the archaeological activity was carried out directly above a distinctive layer of peat that was composed of well-humified organic matter that contained frequent flecks of humified birch bark that gave the peat a distinctive yellow mottling. It indicates that the activity at the site was carried out in open wet woodland colonised by birch and ash and the site was therefore relatively dry when in use.
On Site A, the earliest archaeological activity was represented by five chert lithics recovered from peat that lay directly below the open wet woodland peat, on which the charcoal and stone spreads and the hearth were recorded. Radiocarbon-dating analysis of charcoal samples taken from two of the charcoal spreads in Site A indicated that this activity ranged in date from 2880 to 2500 BC. This activity is contemporary with the earliest activity on Site A, a charcoal spread that was visible below the stone enclosure in the sondage excavated in the south-east quadrant. It dated to 2860 to 2490 BC and was carried out on the same open wet woodland peat also recorded in Site A. A date obtained from a charcoal and stone spread investigated in the central field during the testing phase, carried out in 2008, was also contemporary with the other features and dated to 2280 to 2580 BC. The charcoal and stone spreads indicate that this activity was carried out during the Late Neolithic period. The stratigraphy in the sondage and in Trench 1, on Site B, indicate that a layer of peat formed above this activity and below the stone enclosure, indicating that there was a time lapse between the burning events and the construction of the enclosure. A large charcoal spread recorded in the south-eastern side of the enclosure dated to 2570 to 2340 BC. The stratigraphy recorded in Trench 1 indicated that this spread was broadly contemporary with the enclosure, which is therefore Early Bronze Age in date.
There appeared to be at least three phases of activity at the site, the earliest of which was indicated by the lithics recovered from Site A. This was followed by multiple episodes of burning which were recorded throughout the site, as a whole, on the open wet woodland peat during the Late Neolithic. The final phase of activity involved the construction of the stone enclosure and the burning associated with the charcoal spread recorded within it during the Early Bronze Age. The majority of the charcoal spreads were not composed of clearly defined charcoal lenses, as such, but were shallow and ephemeral. This suggests that they were the result of single or short-term burning episodes and the site was utilised and revisited from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age period.
The site in Ballybeg Bog is most unusual for a wetland context and is difficult to ascribe a definitive function. The archaeological activity may have been influenced by the natural features in this area such as the palaeochannel, natural woodland and Lough Nashade that existed in proximity to the site during the prehistoric period. It is possible that the people that utilised and interacted with the site were exploiting the flora and fauna that would have been in abundance within such an environment
Post-excavation analysis was ongoing at the time of writing. It is hoped that palaeoenvironmental analysis of samples taken from the site will provide information relating to the environmental conditions on the bog contemporary with the site. Specialist analysis of the lithics recovered from all three phases of investigations at the site will provide valuable information on the tool production at the site.