County: Offaly Site name: Rathdrum, Daingean South Bog
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 14E0303
Author: Jane Whitaker
Site type: Road – Class 3 Togher
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 642808m, N 728457m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.304676, -7.357726
Daingean South Bog was surveyed by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (IAWU) during the 2001 Archaeological Survey of Ireland Peatland Survey. In 2004 seven sites were excavated by Sinclair Turrell as part of the Bord na Móna Mitigation Project. A Re-Assessment survey was carried out on behalf of Bord na Móna in 2013 by the author under licence 13E0230 and subsequently twelve sites were excavated in August 2014 by IAC Ltd during the 2014-2017 BnM Mitigation Project.
At Daingean South (OF-DAS017A-B) a single 2m x 5m cutting was excavated across the recorded sighting ‘B’ of the togher. There was little peat remaining over the site. It was poorly humified sphagnum peat with occasional patches of eriophorum and frequent inclusions of fine herbaceous roots. This site consisted of five parallel roundwood elements with two brushwood pegs in poor to moderate condition. The elements ranged in size from 0.06–0.11m in diameter and 0.08–3.13m in length. Flat faceted toolmarks were noted on two wedge-point elements. The peat below the site was moderately humified sphagnum peat with frequent fine fibrous roots and occasional eriophoroum inclusions.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
