County: Offaly Site name: Rathfeston, Clonad Bog
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 14E0354
Author: Jane Whitaker
Site type: Platform - Peatland
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 646281m, N 724130m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.265499, -7.306250
Clonad Bog was initially surveyed by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (IAWU) during the course of the 2001 Archaeological Survey of Ireland, Peatland Survey. Seven of the sites identified were excavated in 2004 by Eoin Corcoran. A Re-Assessment survey was carried out on behalf of Bord na Móna in 2013 by the author under licence number 13E0229 and subsequently three sites were excavated in August 2014 by IAC Ltd during the 2014-2017 BnM Mitigation Project.
A single cutting measuring 3m x 4m was initially proposed for this platform site which was subsequently extended to 5m x 2m to encompass the width of the exposure in the drain face. The overlying peat was a maximum of 0.2m in depth and was composed of well-humified sphagnum peat with frequent large patches of eriophorum and calluna roots. The site was composed of closely placed north-west/south-east oriented brushwood and roundwoods that ranged in diameter from 0.01–0.18m with a maximum length of 1.4m. The elements were laid a maximum of two deep and the western extent of the site was exposed within the cutting while the eastern extent was truncated by the drain, and the adjoining field to the east was considerably lower leaving a maximum surviving size of 2.8m x 1.6m for this site. The underlying peat was moderately humified with frequent calluna roots and patches of eriophorum. A date of 1923–1752 BC was returned from a piece of alder roundwood.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
