The Mysterious Bog Roads of Ancient Ireland, Part II
The Mysterious Bog Roads of Ancient Ireland, Part II
An Irish Bog
In this post, Christian author Mark Fisher concludes his look at the mysterious bog roads of ancient Ireland. (Click here for Part I.)
Last time we saw how the center of ancient Ireland was covered with a great bog, a mire of peat, moss, quicksand, and ponds. To travel across that expanse was dangerous, indeed, until the ancient peoples built a network of wooden roads that criss-crossed the bog. Wide enough for two chariots to pass abreast, they were marvels of road building.
Building a Bog Road—A Massive Undertaking
Imagine building such roadways! They would have been massive undertakings, requiring a large labor force, enormous piles of timber, and extensive planning and organization. The sophistication of this endeavor should make us appreciate ancient Irish engineering in a new light.
Who Were the Greatest Road Builders?
Many assume the Romans were the first great road builders. But the linguistic evidence tell a far different tale. What we find is that the Romans borrowed heavily from Celtic road-building lore. Think about this: The Latin language adopted no fewer than nineteen Celtic words associated with roads and transport. And all of those words pre-dated the Roman empire. (Per The Earliest Wheeled Transport, by Prof. Stuart Piggott) So who knew the most about road-building, the Celts or the Romans? And who borrowed from whom?
The Romans also borrowed so many Celtic words for carts, carriages, and chariots, that we know Celtic transport technology also predated that of the Roman Empire.
Who Built the Roads?
In Pagan Celtic Ireland, Chapter 6, “The Invisible People”, Barry Raftery, tells us this: “The great Corlea road encapsulates the baffling conundrums of Irish Iron Age technology. Its construction was clearly a substantial undertaking which involved the time and energies of many people, perhaps the energies of an entire tribe. But of these people, apart from the road itself silently stretching across the Co. Longford peatland, there is no trace.”
Who built the bog roads? Mysterious, ancient peoples of old. Celts who carried on a busy trade, their horses pulling heavy carts and chariots, hauling heavy goods from here to there. But of their culture and history, we are left to wonder.
Laws to Maintain the Bog Roads
That these roads were important to ancient travel and commerce we know. The later Brehon Laws outlined bog road upkeep and maintenance. If a road ran through the territory of a local king, he was responsible to maintain it. If a traveler injured himself on a road through his lands, the king had to pay compensation. The local clan chief also had to make three yearly renovations: in winter, before the great fairs, and in times of war.
Besides the bog roads, the Celts also built a large number of bridges to cross rivers, streams, and ponds.
Sources for this post were The Celts, by Peter Beresford Ellis, and Pagan Celtic Ireland, by Barry Raftery.
Next week, we’ll begin looking at the role of women in Celtic life. What rights did they have? What were their lives like?
Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. To learn more about his book, follow the link above.