2014:340 - CLS129, Cloonshannagh, Cloonshannagh Bog, Roscommon

Cloonshannagh Bog is located 3km north-west of Termonbarry and 2.5km west of Lough Forbes. The bog is part of the Bord na Móna Mountdillon Group and has a total area of 331 hectares. A survey by ADS under licence 08E0645 in 2008 identified a total of 88 sites in. Upon re-assessment by ADS in 2013 under licence 13E0221 89 sites were recorded. Of the 89 sightings, 60 were platform sightings, 18 sightings were of archaeological wood and 11 were trackway sightings, all of varying lengths and widths. Of these 35 sites were listed for excavation as part of the current contract.

Once the 2013 location of CLS129 was established using survey-grade GPS equipment the surface area of the bog was cleared in order to try and establish the best location for the proposed cutting. The general area of the site contained evidence of wood (most likely of an archaeological nature) spread across the field surface and as such it was difficult to establish with any certainty what the orientation of the site was prior to excavation. It was located centrally between the recorded sites CLS128a and CLS128b and it was difficult to establish the exact limits of any of these spreads of material. It was decided to open a 4m x 4m cutting around the most dense concentration of material likely to be associated with CLS129.

The overlying peat consisted of dark reddish-brown sphagnum peat with inclusions of calluna, bog bean, and clumps of eriophorum. A small area of s. cuspidatum was evident in the south-east of the cutting. The peat was relatively poorly decomposed (H2).

Once the overlying peat had been removed it was interpreted that the site was orientated east–west although, as outlined above, the precise limits were difficult to establish. The main structure consisted of longitudinally laid heavy brushwoods interspersed with 2–3 small roundwoods and lighter brushwood particularly at the south end. There were a cluster of possible pegs/stakes at the south end. The wood was generally well preserved with the exception of elements that had been damaged on the surface by milling, although most of the longer elements had been cracked and fragmented, most likely from compaction by machinery. The elements were more densely packed on the north side than the south side. They ranged in size from 0.08–2.45m long and 15–100mm diameter.

The peat within and beneath the site was similar in consistency, colour and inclusions to the peat described above the site.

An additional slot trench was opened 1.2m to the east of the main cutting to establish if the site continued. A number of elements were evident, most notably however extending north–south, effectively transverse to the main elements. A second slot trench was opened to the south of the main cutting. While a couple of elements were identified, there was no clear structure to the material. This second slot trench was located between site CLS129 and CLS128.

A date of AD 657–858 was returned from a piece of 13-year-old hazel stake.

It is interpreted that site CLS129 represents a platform-type structure. It is clear from the wider area surrounding the site that it forms part of an early medieval landscape consisting of small platforms across the bog surface - Site CLS128a-b, CLS131a-b. It is difficult to identify the precise boundaries between these sites but it is clear from radiocarbon dating that they may represent continued localised activity in this area of the bog over a couple of centuries.

IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow