Road — class 1 togher in Ballylennon,rathdrum

The site (L 620.25m; Wth 3.98m; D 0.69m), is orientated ENE-WSW, and varies considerably in scale (Wth 2.93-6.6m; D 0.33-0.62m min.) and composition along its length. It ranges from one to five layers of construction. While the site typically consist of clay/gravel lying directly above a layer of degraded brushwood, uprights and occasional timbers, a large number of sightings have notably increased stratigraphy dominated by wooden components. It is possible that they represent earlier sites. One sighting consists of a single dense layer of mixed brushwood, twigs and occasional small to medium sized stones. Elsewhere two layers are evident with the basal layer formed of irregularly laid mixed brushwood and stakes. The upper layer, directly above this, consists of a compact, well-defined deposit of pale grey silty clay with a moderate amount of small to medium sized angular and sub-angular stones and occasional pieces of brushwood. This is evident along the entire length of the site but varies in depth and width. A cobbled surface may be present at the SW extent. At its densest it is constructed of five layers. The basal layers are formed of various amounts of longitudinal timbers, mixed brushwood, roundwoods and twigs. The upper layers consist of a deposit of compact pale grey silty clay, with stones and a plank and an overlying possible hurdle. Willow, alder, birch, hazel and oak were identified from this site. These basal layers occur in moderately humified Sphagnum peat with occasional Eriophorum, ericaceous remains and small pockets of fibrous roots and the upper layer within poorly humified Sphagnum peat with a moderate amount of fibrous roots. This site has been dendrochronologically dated to AD 1230±9 or later (Q10129) and AD 1159±9 or later (Q10128). SMR OF010-183----, is 2.8m NE of a central sighting of this site. A large number of other sites lie within 5m of it. Compiled by: Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (University College Dublin). Date of upload: 23 May 2011 This site was identified by the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit (UCD) as a primary togher in July 2001, running for 620m in a north-east/south-west orientation (OF-RDM0004-). Two dendro dates were obtained from timbers taken from the primary sighting. A timber from the basal layer returned a date of AD 1230±9 or later, yet a timber from an upper layer was dated to AD 1159±9 or later. Five cuttings were excavated by Sinclair Turrell under licence no. 05E0553 along the length of this trackway and an additional 25 sightings recorded. This was a complex and variable trackway, running across the narrowest part of the bog, connecting dry land on either side. A feature of the trackway was its increasing thickness and complexity towards the north-eastern end. In Cutting 2 there were at least three successive layers of brushwood, partly overlain by a patch of stones and marl, which was overlain in turn by a further brushwood layer. The stony marl did not seem to be continuous along the trackway but rather to have been laid down in patches, perhaps in an attempt to fill in damp areas. The marl itself was identical to that found as subsoil to the east of the bog, from where it had probably been obtained. One persistent feature, apart from the marl, was a closely set, double row of short pegs, with wedge-shaped worked ends angled in towards each other, these being present at both ends of the trackway. In Cutting 5, to the south-west, there was a further double row of short upright pegs outside the double row, as well as a central row of slender brushwood pegs. There was marl in this cutting but no brushwood layers. Scrap wood, in the form of plank fragments and perhaps hurdles, was encountered in several cuttings and seemed to have also been used in the construction of the trackway. This wood, almost certainly reused, probably accounts for the anomalous dendro dates previously obtained. It is not certain at present whether the successive layers of brushwood found in the north-eastern cuttings represent different trackways or merely later repairs and renewal of the same trackway. These dense brushwood layers are not present to the south-west, which may suggest that it is in fact a single trackway and that wetter conditions to the north-east may have necessitated several phases of renewal here. This is a question which cannot be resolved by archaeology alone and which the results of the environmental programme may be able to clarify. Sinclair Turrell, ADS Ltd, Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3. Date of Revision : 24 April 2009