County: Offaly Site name: Barnaboy, Daingean South Bog
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 14E0308
Author: Jane Whitaker
Site type: Structure – Peatland
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 642309m, N 729352m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.312757, -7.365091
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.
A 2m x 3m cutting was excavated at OF-DAS028. There was little to no remaining peat cover as the elements were mostly exposed on the field surface. The peat directly associated with the elements was poorly humified sphagnum peat with frequent fibrous plant matter inclusions. The excavated site consisted of three machine-damaged roundwoods and an associated brushwood and two short pegs. The elements were irregularly shaped, machine damaged and were oriented north-east/south-west within an area measuring 0.79m x 1.48m. They ranged in size from 0.04–0.07m in diameter and had a maximum surviving length of 0.8m. The pegs were a maximum of 0.35m in length and had no signs of being worked. A single chisel point was noted which contained flat faceted toolmarks. A date of AD 1276–1389 was obtained from a piece of alder brushwood. The underyling peat was poorly humified sphagnum peat with frequent moss and fibrous plant matter inclusions and occasional eriophorum patches.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
