County: Westmeath Site name: Pallasboy, Toar Bog
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 14E0282
Author: Jane Whitaker
Site type: Road - Class 3 Togher
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 640859m, N 785296m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.815587, -7.379540
Toar Bog was initially surveyed by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit during the 2000 Archaeological Survey of Ireland Peatland Survey. In 2005 and 2006 33 sites were excavated under 25 licences by the author. A re-assessment survey of Toar Bog was carried out in 2013 and subsequently a further 19 sites were proposed for excavation in 2014 as part of the Bord na Móna Mitigation Project in the townlands of Killavally, Pallasboy, Montrath and Rathgarrett.
WM-TOR020 was not re-located during a pre-season field visit in June 2014. The find spot was identified by GPS on 28 August 2014 when a sparse scatter of brushwood and heavy roundwood was revealed by cleaning away by hand the loose milled peat contained within an area measuring 1.8m x 3.2m. All elements were machine damaged, dried out and in poor condition. They ranged in size from 35–122mm in diameter and from 0.23–1.48m in length. The surrounding field surface was cleaned back but no additional elements remains were uncovered. The remains were too fragmentary to ascertain the site’s original form or function. The surrounding peat was moderately humified sphagnum peat with frequent eriophorum and occasional calluna and sedge inclusions. A date of AD 1294–1403 was returned from a piece of willow brushwood.
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