2014:347 - CLS104, Caul, 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 in 2008 under licence 08E0645 identified a total of 88 sites. 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.

The 2013 survey recorded a “platform visible in the drain face 0 to 0.11m below the bog surface. This site was located 0.34m above CLS105 and north of CLS103 and south of CLS106. The composition of this platform consisted of a single layer of roughly parallel east–west oriented roundwood and brushwood. The elements were moderately to poorly preserved due to exposure and milling and were sparsely laid. The brushwood ranged in size from 0.03m to 0.45m in diameter. The roundwood ranged from 0.06m to 0.14m in diameter with maximum visible length of 0.12m. The underlying dark brown peat was moderately humified sphagnum rich with frequent calluna and moderate eriophorum inclusions.”

A 14m long by 4m wide cutting was opened up along the area of the sightings of sites CLS103-CLS107 inclusive, which included the location of site CLS104 as described in the 2013 survey. No evidence of wood associated with this site was identified during the excavation of the large cutting and it must be concluded that no elements of site CLS104 survived in situ at the time of the excavation.

A fragment of ash, 25 yrs, was chosen for AMS dating from samples taken from the 2013 ADS survey and returned a result of 40 BC – AD 73.

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