Road - class 3 togher, Annaghbeg, Co. Longford

Co. Longford |

Roads & Tracks

Road – class 3 togher, Annaghbeg, Co. Longford

Beneath the bogland of Annaghbeg in County Longford, a prehistoric road lies orientated east-north-east to west-south-west, running quietly through the waterlogged ground as it has for centuries.

It is classified as a class 3 togher, a term used for ancient trackways built across boggy or marshy terrain. Toghers were typically constructed from timber, brushwood, or other organic materials laid down to create a passable surface over ground that would otherwise be impassable, and they survive in Ireland's bogs precisely because the wet, anaerobic conditions prevent the wood from decaying.

This particular togher came to light during a field survey carried out in 1988, and was recorded by Barry Raftery, whose 1990 publication on Irish bog roads documented it alongside comparable sites from across the country. The survey work was conducted under the auspices of the Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit, based at University College Dublin, which systematically examined Ireland's midland bogs during that period and brought a significant number of previously unrecorded ancient trackways into the archaeological record. The east-north-east to west-south-west orientation of the Annaghbeg togher is a detail that can suggest deliberate routing between specific landmarks or settlement areas, though the limited evidence available here does not allow for firm conclusions about its original purpose or date.

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