Corlea Trackway

On this particular day, we decided to visit the Corlea trackway near the village of Kenagh in County Longford. This Iron Age Bog Road dates back over 2000 years and was only discovered in 1985 during turf harvesting work conducted by BordNaMona. The trackway was discovered more than 1.5 meters buried under the bog, and it was thanks to the foreman who had a keen interest for archaeology that he immediately halted the work to preserve the exciting discovery.

Built in 148 BC, it's the largest of its kind to be uncovered in Europe. Arriving at the OPW visitor centre (Link), we were the first visitors of the day.

Our first introduction to the Iron Age bog road was by watching an introductory video that explained the discovery, excavation and preservation of the road. One of the many things we took away from watching the video was the hard work the archaeologists done during the excavation works, moving tons of peat and water-drenched soil to expose the well preserved road. Once it was exposed, each of the wooden beams had to be kept moist to stop decay or warping from happening .

Where the beams had been preserved by the anaerobic environment of the bog, it meant a large stretch of the road remained largely intact throughout the duration of 2000years. But to preserve them after their excavation, each of the beams was shipped to the UK where they were treated and freeze-dried.

After the movie, we were guided into the temperature and humidity controlled room where we could admire an 18-meter stretch of the excavated and preserved road. While its exact purpose hasn't been determined, historians agree that it was part of a routeway of great importance. Where it might have been a section of a ceremonial highway connecting the Hill of Uisneach with the royal site of Rathcroghan, other believe it could have been built for another reason. Our guide of the day gave us some other plausible examples, but it's for you to visit the Corlea track and see and hear for yourself.  

​The craftmanship is just amazing, many of the beams still showing axe marks where the Celts would have carved out sections so that pins could be driven through the beams to keep them in place. 

Within the visitor centre, you can learn about life of the Celts, how they would have built these tracks,... During the excavation, fragments of pots and plates were found as well giving us an insight in life of the Celts. An oak dough board was also found during the excavations and can be seen in the visitor centre. Fragments of an old cart are also on display, and where it once must have served the purpose as a cart, the broken cart was used as support to the Corlea track when it was built.

After the visitor centre, it is worthwhile going for a walk around the Corlea bog. Looped walks take you around the natural bogland where you can admire the native flora and fauna. Where a large portion of the bogroad is still underground, large ponds have been created to keep the area's water table constant. 

The boardwalk from the visitor centre to these ponds is where the Corlea bogroad was excavated. Further walks bring you through the protected area where you can admire the bog cotton waving in the wind or try to find round-leafed sundew or orchids.