Road - road/trackway, Ballycasey More, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Roads & Tracks
In the townland of Ballycasey More, in County Clare, a road or trackway has been recorded as an archaeological monument, meaning it is considered significant enough to protect and document, even if little about it is currently known beyond its classification and location.
That designation alone raises questions. Roads and trackways appear throughout the Irish archaeological record in forms ranging from prehistoric wooden togher, the timber causeways laid across bogland to make crossing possible, to the more familiar rutted lanes of the medieval and post-medieval periods. Which category this example belongs to, and what evidence survives on the ground, remains unclear from what is presently available.
Ballycasey More sits in the broader landscape of east Clare, a county whose archaeology ranges from the Burren's limestone pavements and portal tombs in the north to the more quietly layered rural heritage of its eastern and southern townlands. The fact that a road feature here has been formally recorded as a monument suggests it preserves something beyond the ordinary, whether in its alignment, its construction, or simply its age. Trackways of sufficient antiquity can indicate patterns of movement and land use that long predate the mapped road network, sometimes connecting settlements, fords, or agricultural areas that have otherwise vanished from the visible landscape.
