Road — class 1 togher in Lemanaghan

A substantial togher (Wth 1.2m; D 0.28m; L 870m) orientated N-S and evident at 24 sightings which ranged from 0-0.3m below the field surface. The plank walkway was first identified in 1993 during field survey carried out by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit, when it was traced for 454m. During the 1998 assessment the site was traced further and was finally identified as surviving intermittently over a length of 870m. The site consists of a single plank walkway, predominantly comprised of two layers. This site was subsequently excavated under licence 98E0464. As part of the excavation 9 cuttings were opened. The basal layer was comprised of longitudinally laid planks, set 0.6-0.85m apart, and overlain by transversely laid roundwoods. These structures were located at intervals of approximately 6m along the length of the site to provide support and stability for the overlying walkway, and they were secured in situ by a series of squared oak pegs. The main walking surface was constructed of a series of longitudinally laid radially split planks with some half split, set end to end. This created a trackway with a maximum walking surface of 0.27m in width. In most instances the ends of these timbers were laid over the substructure supports. In places these timbers were also secured by pegs, with limited surviving evidence of mortices in the timbers of the walking surface. The surviving condition of the site varied from cutting to cutting. Generally many of the overlying timbers had missing lengths, breaks and milling damage with portions of the structure partially displaced. The S 30m of the site the site was only evidenced by disturbed plank fragments and wood chips indicating the presence of the site and there was only limited surviving evidence uncovered along the adjacent 163m of the site. The site was best preserved along the adjacent 67m length of the site, in cuttings 6-8, and no excavation was carried out on the N portion. Two dendrochronological dates have been obtained from this portion, one of 590±9 AD or later (Q-9793) from the substructure of the site and 621±9 AD or later (Q-9795) from the superstructure, possibly indicative of repair. A large portion of the wood identified was oak with occasional ash, hazel, willow and yew also present. The site was located in poorly to moderately humified Sphagnum peat in an area that has been disturbed by earlier peat production. This site was found to be broadly contemporary with SMR OF015-065---- and SMR OF015-066---- to the N of Lemanaghan island (McDermott 1999). An excavation was carried out as part of an assessment and mitigation project in Bord na Móna's Lemanaghan Bog, Boora Works, Co. Offaly. The work was carried out between 13 October and 5 November 1998 and concentrated on a single-plank walkway and three lesser structures. During the 1998 assessment the site was traced further and was finally identified as surviving intermittently over a length of 870m. The site runs in a north-south direction, and at its northern end is a zone of 25 other smaller sites to the east and west. The excavations were concentrated along a 360m length at the southernmost end of the site. The assessment recorded visible traces of the site at fourteen locations, and nine cuttings were established. On excavation the wood in the three most southerly cuttings (Nos 1-3) proved to have been redeposited by heavy machinery. This wood was roughly aligned on the projected line of the site and represented its former presence in the general area. Cuttings 4 and 5 each produced a single in situ peg indicating the line of the site, as well as fragments of disturbed and redeposited wood. Cuttings 6-8 produced the best surviving evidence of the structure of the sites. In each cutting the site had been truncated by Bord na Móna drains and severely damaged and partly removed by surface milling. The general pattern of construction revealed in these cuttings showed an upper surface of single longitudinal planks laid end to end supported two layers of substructure. None of the upper planks survived intact, but the excavated evidence indicates that they ranged from c. 4m to 6m long, with mortises cut through the ends, through which pegs were driven. Supporting each end of the planks was an upper substructure of single transverse roundwoods or split timbers c. 1.1m long. The lower substructure consisted of pairs of longitudinally laid timbers c. 1.5m long set c. 0.5m apart, supporting each of the upper substructural timbers. The end of each of the superstructure planks was therefore supported by three timbers and additional lesser timbers as well as supporting pegs. Cutting 9 produced no surviving horizontally laid timbers; however, a number of pegs survived indicating a continuation of the pattern of construction identified in other cuttings. This form of trackway construction has not been excavated before and samples submitted for dendrochronological dating provided a date of after AD 590. Compiled by: Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (University College Dublin). Date of upload: 23 May 2011 Date of revision: 12 June 2019